Erskine Tate

American jazz violinist and bandleader (1895–1978)

Erskine Tate

Erskine Tate and the Vendome Theater Orchestra in 1925

Background information
Born| January 14 1895
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died| December 17 1978 (aged 83)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres| Jazz
Occupation| Musician
Instrument| Violin

Musical artist

Erskine Tate (January 14, 1895, Memphis, Tennessee, - December 17, 1978, Chicago) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.

## Biography

[edit]

Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Vendome Orchestra, at the Vendome Theater, which was located at 31st and State Street. The Vendome was a movie house, and his Vendome Theater Symphony Orchestra played during silent films.[1] The band included Louis Armstrong (trumpet), Freddie Keppard (cornet), Buster Bailey (saxophone), Jimmy Bertrand (drums), Ed Atkins (trombone), and Teddy Weatherford (piano), as well as Stump Evans, Bob Shoffner, Punch Miller, Omer Simeon, Preston Jackson, Fats Waller, and Teddy Wilson. Along with music for the movie, the orchestra played both serious and light classical repertoire, such as music by Wagner and Beethoven.[2] Documented overtures played at the Vendome include overtures to Franz von Suppé's Poet and Peasant and Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell.[3] In the mid-1930s, Tate retired from active performance and became a music teacher.

## References

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1. ^ Brothers 2014, p. 175.
2. ^ Brothers 2014, p. 178.
3. ^ Brothers 2014, p. 186.

* Erskine Tate at AllMusic
* Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Israel
* Belgium

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Discography of American Historical Recordings