For Dancers Only: David Jacoby on Connecting Musicians to Lindy Hoppers
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Junior Mance and Ray Bryant at Y7A (2005)
Have you heard Junior Mance's version of “For Dancers Only”? He takes this fast, big band Jimmie Lunceford tune and flips it on its head. Slow, bluesy, heartfelt, yet still a swingin' rollercoaster ride. What amazing ability to have the creativity to hear a song like that in a completely different way.
In 2002 I heard he was playing at Knickerbockers, an intimate restaurant near Washington Square. I called Manu, and off we went to see him. He blew our minds immediately. We sheepishly said hi to him during the end of a set break and told him we're crazy about his version of “For Dancers Only.” Off he immediately went to the piano and started playing it! Pure bliss, and such a sweet man.
So after his gig, I tell him we're lindy hoppers and we'd love for him to play for us sometime. He looked at me kinda funny, but a little interested. Then I told him what we could afford, and he looked at me very funny. But I followed up and begged and pleaded and promised him it would be great, and he finally said yes, at the very least to shut me up.
That's how it all began: the Junior Mance Trio, January 9, 2003 at Jack Rose, sponsored by Jelly Roll Productions and Yehoodi. Junior's bass player, Earl May, had such a fantastic time, that he insisted that his band, The Earl May Quintet, play for dancers. That band included vocalist Catherine Russell (now a Grammy winner), and legendary Benny Powell, who played in Basie's band for over a decade. After that night, each of them insisted on their own gigs for dancers with their own bands! And on and on it went, a spiraling avalanche of jazz greats - and some younger cats - excited to reconnect with dancers.
From 2003 - 2008, Jelly Roll Productions and Yehoodi teamed up for live music lindy events which included Junior Mance, Ray Bryant, Ernestine Anderson, Barbara Morrison, Clark Terry, Benny Powell, Frank Wess, Art Baron, Houston Person, Kim Nalley, Dave Glasser, Laverne Butler, Paul Tillotson, Wycliffe Gordon, John Bunch, Johnny Blowers, Ruth Brisbane, and tons more.
Little did I know Junior was a regular at Knickerbockers and other local joints, so I got to see him dozens of times. After a gig one night in 2003, Earl May comes up to me and says, "Hey David, did you know that next year is Count Basie's 100th Birthday? We should do something." So I asked if he knew any players who used to play with Basie, and I struck gold! He was close friends with Frank Foster, Basie's longtime saxophone player, who also wrote many songs, including one of Frankie Manning's favorites, “Shiny Stockings.”
Long story, short, Earl connects me with Frank, and I paint the vision of a grand ballroom with as many living Basie alumni as we can get, and Frank couldn't have been more, well, jazzed. He calls all his Basie buddies, including Frank Wess, Benny Powell, Joe Wilder, Clark Terry, Dennis Rowland, and others, and they all show up for a grand event filled with countless musicians who played with Count Basie, October 9th, 2004: Yehoodi's 6th Anniversary, also known as The Basie Centennial Ball (or even "Basie 100").
Barbara Morrison at Basie100
There are so many amazing memories of live music events, and it is all because of the enthusiasm of the lindy community, especially the New York City community. Time and again, musicians were floored by the reception they received. They had gotten used to snobby jazz clubs with a large cover and 2-drink minimum and people sitting in their chairs. But now they were connecting with dancers, feeling the energy and vibrating floor during the song, and hearing the hooting and hollering afterwards. This was a high that they had forgotten about, and for some, had never experienced.
Lindy hoppers always talk about the importance of the connection with the music and musicians. With Yehoodi's anniversary parties and other events, for the musicians, the feeling was always mutual. All they wanted to do was play for dancers only.
