Charles Mitchell "Dolo" Coker (November 16, 1927 – April 13, 1983) was a jazz pianist and composer who recorded four albums for Xanadu Records and extensively as a sideman, for artists like Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Lou Donaldson, Art Pepper, Philly Joe Jones, and Dexter Gordon.
[1] Charles Mitchell "Dolo" Coker was born in Hartford, Connecticut on November 16, 1927, raised in both Philadelphia and Florence, South Carolina.
The first musical instruments Coker played in childhood were the C-melody and alto saxophones, learning them at a school in Camden, South Carolina.
Coker moved to Philadelphia, where he studied piano at the Landis School of Music and at Orenstein's Conservatory.
He was also a member of the Frank Morgan Quartet (with Flip Greene on bass and Larance Marable on drums).