Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra is one of the early examples of what would come to be called Big Band music. The band was retained by the Vendome Theatre at 3145 State Street at East 31st in Chicago and employed some of the best musicians in town , including Louis Armstrong and Freddie Keppard. The Orchestra would play the accompaniment to silent movies and a set during intermissions and between films. They played anything from light Classical pieces to Hot Jazz and Blues.