Cotton Club Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub located in Harlem on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1935, then briefly in the midtown Theater District from 1936 to 1940. The club operated most notably during the United States' era of Prohibition. The club was a whites-only establishment, but featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Willie Bryant; vocalists Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Aida Ward, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong collaborations Grammy Hall of Fame by 2001. "The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve" attracted praise in the same vein as the original releases that the compilation albums took songs from, such as from Richard S. Ginell of Allmusic. Writing for "All About Jazz", music critic David Rickert stated that the collaborations were "a match made in heaven" and lauded "Ella and Louis", "Ella and Louis Again", and "Porgy and Bess" all as "terrific albums". He remarked, "Their work together is a highlight of the 1950s, a busy time for classic vocal jazz records, and both were in fine