Charles L. Cooke (1891 – 1958), known as Doc Cook, was an American jazz bandleader and arranger. Cook was a Doctor of Music. He first worked as a composer and arranger in Detroit before moving to Chicago around 1910. Cook became resident leader of the orchestra at Paddy Harmon’s Dreamland Ballroom in Chicago from 1922 to 1927, acting as conductor and musical director. The ensemble recorded under several names, such as Cookie’s Gingersnaps, Doc Cook and his 14 Doctors of Syncopation, and Doc Cook’s Dreamland Orchestra. Among those who played in Cook’s band were Freddie Keppard, Jimmie Noone, Johnny St. Cyr, Zutty Singleton, Joe Poston, Andrew Hilaire, and Luis Russell. In 1930, Cook moved to New York City and worked as an arranger for Radio City Music Hall and RKO, working there into the 1940s. On Broadway, he had a number of important orchestration credits. A proponent of ragtime, he also worked frequently with Eubie Blake, supplying the arrangements for the 1952 revival of Shuffle Along.

The arrangement charts will appear below once you’re logged in.
👇