Cab Calloway and his Orchestra

In this excerpt from the Twentieth Century Fox 1943 film “Stormy Weather” starring Lena Horne and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway and his Orchestra perform Geechy Joe with musicians including Jonah Jones and Lester “Shad” Collins, trumpets; Milt Hinton, bass; and J.C. Heard, drums.

Cabell “Cab” Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, where he was a regular performer.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States’ most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway’s band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus “Doc” Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon “Chu” Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

Click here to Support 30sJazz