Erskine Tate

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

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. 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. Documented overtures played at the Vendome include overtures to Franz von Suppé's Poet and Peasant and Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell. In the mid-1930s, Tate retired from active performance and became a music teacher.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 19, 1895 (Memphis), Died December 17, 1978 (Chicago)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1926

Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
OKeh 8399 10-in. 6/23/1923 Cutie blues Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader, composer  
OKeh 8400 10-in. 6/23/1923 Chinaman blues Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader  
Brunswick C334-C336 10-in. 5/28/1926 Static strut Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader  
Brunswick C337-C338 10-in. 5/28/1926 Stomp off, let’s go Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tate, Erskine," accessed May 9, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107072.

Tate, Erskine. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 9, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107072.

"Tate, Erskine." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107072

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