Doc Cheatham|thumb
Adolphus '''"Doc" Cheatham''' (* Washington D.C.) stand als Dämpfer aus Kupfer und Messing, den er sein Leben lang benutzte.  

Cheatham spielte in der Schule Trompete und studierte später Medizin (daher später sein Spitzname), arbeitete aber zeitweilig in lokalen Orchestern. 1926 ging er mit John Williams auf Tournee, spielte dann mit Albert Wynn in Chicago (auch als Ersatz für Louis Armstrong im ''Vendome Thatre'') und mit Bobby Lee.
  
Weitere Stationen waren 1927 Philadelphia bei Wilbur de Paris, 1927 New York bei Chick Webb, 1928-1930 Europatourneen mit Sam Wooding, dann New York, bei Marion Hardy's Alabamians und den McKinney’s Cotton Pickers. 1932-39 bei Cab Calloway, 1939 bei Teddy Wilson, ab 1940 bei Benny Carter, Teddy Hill 1941 und Eddie Haywood 1944. Er begann eine Lehrtätigkeit. Ab 1948 spielte er vorwiegend bei Latin Bands wie der von Machito, 1953-54 freelance in Boston.. Von 1960 an verstärkte er wieder sein Engagement im Jazz, auf Afrika-Tournee mit Herbie Mann, 1961 bei Schallplattenaufnahmen mit Harold Shorty Baker und Sammy Price. Nach fünf Jahren mit eigener Band machte er 1966 erst seine erste Aufnahme unter eigenem Namen. In den 70er und 80er-Jahren wurde der alternde Solotrompeter zum Star auf internationalen Jazz-Festivals. 

Er gab noch viele Konzerte, 1974 mit Teddy Wilson, 1978 mit Kenny Drew. Die Aufnahme ist gekennzeichnet von seinem feinsinnigen Humor bei der Auswahl der Lieder, und von einem Charme der Gesangs- und der Trompetenstimme wie bei Chet Baker in dessen letztem Lebensjahren. 1997 starb Cheatham nach einem Auftritt im Washingtoner ''Blues Alley Club''.

{{Infobox musical artist 
| Name                = Doc Cheatham
| Img                 = Doc_Cheatham_2.jpg
| Img_capt            = Photo by Ed Newman
| Img_size            = 
| Landscape           = yes
| Background          = solo_singer
| Birth_name          = Adolphus Anthony Cheatham
| Alias               = 
| Born                = 
| Died                = 
| Origin              = U.S.
| Instrument          = Trumpet<br>Vocals
| Voice_type          = 
| Genre               = Swing<br>Dixieland<br>Big band music
| Occupation          = Bandleader
| Years_active        = 
| Label               = 
| Associated_acts     = 
| URL                 = 
| Current_members     = 
| Past_members        = 
| Notable_instruments = 
}}
'''Adolphus Anthony Cheatham''', much better known as '''Doc Cheatham''' (13 June, 1905&ndash;2 June, 1997) was a jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. While a reliable player in some of the top jazz groups from the 1920s on, Cheatham's career enjoyed an unusual flowering of renewed creativity and acclaim in his later decades; Doc himself agreed with the critical assessment that he was probably the only jazz musician to create his best work after the age of 70.

==Early life==
Cheatham was born in mute which Cheatham treasured and performed with for the rest of his career. A further revelation came the following year when Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago. Armstrong would be a lifelong influence on Cheatham.

==Working with the name bands==
Cheatham played in Albert Wynn's band (and occasionally substituted for Armstrong at the Vendome Theater), and recorded on sax with Ma Rainey before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927, where he worked with the bands of Bobby Lee and Wilber de Paris before moving to New York City the following year. After a short stint with Chick Webb he left to tour Europe with Sam Wooding's band.

Cheatam returned to the United States in 1930, and played with Marion Handy and McKinney's Cotton Pickers before landing a job with Cab Calloway. Cheatham was Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932 through 1939. 

He performed with Latin bands in New York City, including the bands of Perez Prado, Marcelino Guerra, Ricardo Ray (on whose catchy, hook-laden album "Jala, Jala Boogaloo, Volume II", he played exquisitely (but uncredited), particularly on the track "Mr. Trumpet Man"), Machito, and others. In addition to continuing Latin gigs, he played again with Wilbur de Paris and Sammy Price. He led his own band on Broadway for five years starting in 1960, after which he toured with Benny Goodman.

==Later work==
In the 1970s, Doc Cheatham made a vigorous self-assessment to improve his playing, including taping himself and critically listening to the recordings, then endeavoring to eliminate all clichés from his playing. The discipline paid off, and Doc received ever-improving critical attention.