Original photograph; of 11-piece band posed on the stage of Savoy Ballroom beneath the sign "Bennie Carter and his Savoy Playboys by (Carter, Benny) - 1928

New York: Vithana Photo Studio, 1928. Four edge tears mended with tape; some additional surface damage, still quite attractive. Vintage gelatin silver print, approx. 8-1/2 X 13 in., with Vithana Photo Studio stamp on rear. Formal group shot of Carter's first band as a leader - another image from the session appears on the cover of his autobiography - formed from what had been the Wilberforce Collegians, and performing under Carter's baton at the storied Savoy Ballroom from 1928 to 1930, when Carter left to join Fletcher Henderson. The image shows Carter seated at the piano, baton in hand, flanked by band members Ted McCord and Bob Sands (saxophones), Lavert Hutchinson (tuba), Gabby Rogers (piano), Shelton Hemphill (trumpet) Talcott Reeves (banjo & guitar), Bill Beason (drums), Wardell "Preacher" Jones (trumpet), Danny Logan and Henry "Red" Hicks (trombones). A fine image of a confident young Carter as he was emerging as one of the most successful bandleaders and arrangers among the early swing bands. Vithana was a black-owned photo studio located in Harlem just a few blocks from the Savoy.