Biography
Connie's Inn Orchestra functioned as an umbrella designation for the various ensembles that performed at the Harlem nightclub Connie's Inn, located at 131st St. and Seventh Avenue and positioned as a direct competitor to the Cotton Club in the realm of nightlife entertainment. Conductors associated with the respective groups, each of which took on the Connie's Inn Orchestra identity for its own engagements, included Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Harlan Lattimore, and Carroll Dickerson. The version appearing on A Tribute to Black Entertainers was in fact Fletcher Henderson's band from its 1932 roster, which incorporated Coleman Hawkins, Rex Stewart, and vocalist Harlan Lattimore, and which assumed the billing only briefly while between other bookings.