A fine bop pianist who never became all that famous,
Dolo Coker's most high-profile period was when he recorded regularly for Xanadu in the late '70s. Back in the 1950s, he had worked and recorded with
Sonny Stitt (1955-1957),
Gene Ammons,
Lou Donaldson,
Art Pepper (appearing on his Contemporary recording
Intensity),
Philly Joe Jones, and
Dexter Gordon (1960-1961). He settled in Los Angeles in 1961, leading his own trio. In the 1970s,
Coker worked with
Stitt again, in addition to
Herb Ellis,
Blue Mitchell,
Red Rodney,
Lee Konitz,
Sonny Criss,
Supersax, and many artists associated with the Xanadu label. ~ Scott Yanow