Originating from a show penned by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, the Chocolate Dandies first emerged as a small ensemble under the leadership of Don Redman, capturing the late 1920s music scene with their vibrant performances. While Redman initially utilized the name for certain recording sessions with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, it soon gained traction among other musicians, notably Benny Carter, who used it for a string of fine recordings he made with Coleman Hawkins.

Other versions of these groups continued to play into the 1940s and counted among their members Max Kaminsky, Floyd O’Brien, Buck Clayton, and other members of Carter’s and Fletcher Henderson’s bands.

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