He first directed a band from 1922 to 1924 in the Sunset Cafe, which led to a longer tour, in which his sideman, Louis Armstrong, quickly became known (and later took his place). He was known for his strictness, issuing penalties to musicians who missed notes.[5] His "Carroll Dickerson Savoyagers" then appeared in the Savoy Ballroom, as well as in New York in the late 1920s.[6]
Despite their differences in Chicago over Armstrong taking over the orchestra, musicians such as Armstrong, Buster Bailey, George Mitchell, Earl Hines and Zutty Singleton played in his Savoy Orchestra.[7] The musicians of Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven of 1927 were musicians taken from the Dickerson orchestra, and he himself played with some recordings as a violinist. He also toured with King Oliver.
