08/29/2026
1930: The Duke Ellington Orchestra on Film:
Before television - and decades before MTV, Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Orchestra appeared in the Amos 'n' Andy movie "Check and Double Check."
Note that Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney and Barney Bigard made up one of the greatest early jazz sax sections ever captured on film!
You'll also hear both Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton on trombone and Juan Tizol on valve trombone, which is pretty unusual to see on film.
The Cotton Club Orchestra:
-Duke Ellington — piano, leader
-Johnny Hodges — soprano, alto saxophone
-Harry Carney — alto, baritone saxophone, clarinet
-Barney Bigard — clarinet, tenor saxophone
-Arthur Whetsol — trumpet
-Cootie Williams — trumpet
-Freddie Jenkins — trumpet
-Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton — trombone
-Juan Tizol — valve trombone
-Fred Guy — banjo
-Wellman Braud — bass
Sonny Greer — drums
In this film, the band actually appears on camera performing. They weren't just hired to provide background music.
And there's a fascinating film-history wrinkle with "Three Little Words," the first bit of music you'll hear. The apparent vocal trio in the film isn't actually the three men seen. The recording was made by Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker (the Rhythm Boys) with the Ellington Orchestra, while Ellington's musicians appear to mime the instrumental accompaniment in the film.
Let us know which soloist you enjoyed the most!
