The Omaha guide., 1933-10-14
COTTON CLUB ORCHESTRA
DOING SWELL
Cab Galloway at The Rizt Theatre
Soon.


quently express an interest in the
curious nicknames printed on the
music stands of the men in Cab Call
oway's Cotton Club orchestra.
"Foots," "F1at," "Bunky," doc
"Son," "Fahek," rDeedlo," "Cash,'
Fruit" and place" are some of these
unusual names and all of them have
special significance.
Walter P. Thomas, tenor sax play
er, is called anything but
"Foots" by his fellow members. His
feet are quite large, but the express
sion Mas taken from a lyric of one
of Cabs songs, about a gal so tall
that she sleeps in the kitchen with
her foots in the hail."
A.. j Brown was dubbed "Flat"
because his voice is high and squeaky,
and Arvelle Harris is "Bunky'' be-
cause he IS SO short and squatty in
build. Both are sax players. Harry
White and Edwin Swayze, trombone
and trumpet players respectively, are
"Father" and "Son" because White
never goes anywhere without Swayze.
"Slop" is the most fastidious mem
Der of the band about his wardrobe
and personal appearance. He is La
mar Wright, trumpet. Because he
resembles one of the twins from
"Alice in Wonderland" Andy Brown,
trombone, is called Decide"
The drummer, Leroy Maxey, ans
wers to Cash" because he seldoms
talks about anything else, and the
bass player, Al Morgan, whose voice
is as deep in picth as his instrument,
is called "Place" from his habit of
calling out on arrival at any engage
ment, "Is this the pla-a-ace?"
With the organization OF an or
chestra under Benny king" Carter
vt,.ch vii soc2 make its debut on the
Loew circuit, Irving Mills adds a
fourth colored orchestra to the i'm
posing list of bands under his man
agement, including Duke Ellington
Cab Galloway, and Mills Blue Rhy-
thin Band.
Although over sixty persons find
employment already with these four
musical units, this number will soon
be jumped to well over a hundred
when Irving Mills sends the Cotton
Club Stormy Weather" Revue Of
1888 on the road, with the Blue Ray-
thin Band, Adelaide Hall and George
Dewey Washington featured. It has
been a practise for the last few years
for the outstanding revues from the
Cotton Club to double into theatres
in the New York City metropolitan
area, but this is the first time that
one Of the revues is going on the
road. Some twenty weeks Of bookings
have been obtained for it BY Cotton
Club Productions, Inc, the producers
Of which Irving Mills is president, and
it will open on October 9th at either
Loew's Fox in Washington or Loew's
Century, Baltimore. Include in the
subsequent route are such cities as
Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, st. Louis,
and the Interstate circuit in Texas
and surrounding states over which
Duke Ellington is now touring.
The Carter orchestra will follow
this revue over the Loew circuit. and
promises to become almost immediate
ly an outstanding attraction. Carter,
a skilled conductor, saxphone and
trumpet player and arranger, has
been making arrangements for the
Mills music interests and orchestras
for some time, and has also achieved
prominence in the monograph record
ing field. With his new orchestra.
which will include a number of stellar
lnstrumentalists, he will become an
exclusive Victor recording artist