Theo Croker
Trumpet Player/Composer
At 22 years old, Theo has already distinguished himself as a vital force in the jazz community. As the grandson of jazz trumpet legend Doc Cheatham who is a part of Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project, Theo’s legacy is profoundly felt when he plays. His musicianship possesses a depth that can usually only be achieved through a lifetime’s worth of experience.
Theo graduated in May 2007 from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio with a B.A. in Jazz performance. At Oberlin Theo studied under the guidance of legendary trumpeters Donald Byrd & Marcus Belgrave, as well as Wendell Logan, Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, and Robin Eubanks. While in the midst of his studies at Oberlin, Theo performed professionally with legendary artists such as Louis Hayes and his Cannonball Adderley Tribute Quintet (at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center). He was a featured artist at the 2005 JVC Jazz Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, sharing the stage with jazz legends Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Benny Powell, and others. He was also a featured artist at the 2005 Windsor Jazz Festival, the 2005 Aspen Snow Mass Festival at the Wheeler Opera House, feature performer for the 2005 Highlights in Jazz series at the Tribeca Center for Performing Arts in New York City, and special guest with Nicholas Payton at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz Festival, (as well as leading his own quintet on countless performances in Cleveland, Detroit, & NYC).
