About Charles (Dolo) Coker

Charles Mitchell "Dolo" Coker, a luminous, innovative, highly-regarded Xanadu recording star and major jazz artist from his early teens was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and raised in both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Florence, South Carolina.

"Dolo" his unique first name, is a diminutive derived from a regional dance he liked very much and performed with expertise as a child. Dolo matriculated at the renowned Mather Academy, a privately-owned, co-educational Methodist school in Camden, South Carolina. While there, in addition to pursuing academia, he studied and learned to play C melody, alto saxophone, and the piano. Upon completion of his studies at Mather he returned to Philadelphia, where he studied piano, arranging, and conducting at the Landis School of Music and also at Orenstein's Conservatory. He further prepared under the private tutelage of Howard Reynolds (piano only).

Name any established jazz practitioner who delighted audiences from the 50's through the top of the 80's and it is a virtual certainty that Dolo performed with them in most of the top jazz spots in the U.S., Europe, West and North Africe, the Far East, Canada, the Bahamas, and the West Indies.

Dolo performed with such artists as Dexter Gordon, Harry "Sweets" Edison, the famous Heath Brothers (with whom he began as a lad of 16), Erskine Hawkins, Sonny Stitt, Red Rodney, Richard Boone, Hank Crawford, Plas Johnson, Teddy Edwards, John Collins, Art Pepper, Philly Joe Jones, and many many more. He also served as musical director for both Clyde McPhatter and Ruth Brown.

Thanks to the magic of records, his original compositions, and the Dolo Coker Scholarship Foundation, the genious of Dolo Coker still lives!