“Hiya, Marge!” calls out Steve Jones to a white-haired woman who’s just being seated in one of Knickerbocker’s roomy booths. The co-owner and manager of the elegantly informal boite tucked into the corner of East 9th Street and University Place in the East Village, Jones takes pride in being on a
first-name basis with his “regulars”. A lifelong
resident of Greenwich Village himself, he exudes that
particular New York gruff friendliness mixed with a dash of wary savvy.
Jones is the manager and co-owner with two-time Tony Award winning Broadway producer Frank Granat (Any Wednesday, Dylan), who first opened Knickerbocker in 1977. The distinctive, inviting decor might be called updated turn-of-the-century classy saloon. “Frank’s got a good aesthetic eye,” observes Jones. Only recently renovated, the room which can seat 125, has walls covered with antique New York-themed posters like the circa World War I “Volunteer in 71st New York Infantry” and many Al Hirschfeld sketches of such quintessential New Yorkers as Bobby Short, Leonard Bernstein, Joe Papp and Liza Minnelli.
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“Hiya, Marge!” calls out Steve Jones to a white-haired woman who’s just being seated in one of Knickerbocker’s roomy booths. The co-owner and manager of the elegantly informal boite tucked into the corner of East 9th Street and University Place in the East Village, Jones takes pride in being on a
first-name basis with his “regulars”. A lifelong
resident of Greenwich Village himself, he exudes that
particular New York gruff friendliness mixed with a dash of wary savvy.
Jones is the manager and co-owner with two-time Tony Award winning Broadway producer Frank Granat (Any Wednesday, Dylan), who first opened Knickerbocker in 1977. The distinctive, inviting decor might be called updated turn-of-the-century classy saloon. “Frank’s got a good aesthetic eye,” observes Jones. Only recently renovated, the room which can seat 125, has walls covered with antique New York-themed posters like the circa World War I “Volunteer in 71st New York Infantry” and many Al Hirschfeld sketches of such quintessential New Yorkers as Bobby Short, Leonard Bernstein, Joe Papp and Liza Minnelli.
Their music policy has varied throughout the years. “I started here as a waiter/bartender and became manager three months after that,” recalls Jones. “The first year we opened, by 9 or 9:30 we were pretty much over. At around 11 o’clock we’d close up and I would go over to Bradley’s to have a drink and listen to jazz. It occurred to me that with The Cookery at one end of the street and Bradley’s at the other, it might behoove us to also have longer hours with music.”
It didn’t take much to convince his partner. “Both of us had an affinity towards jazz. Frank used to play jazz piano himself and actually backed up Lenny Bruce in his last days.” They bought the Steinway grand which still sits at the head of the room opposite the bar and booked their first act. “We decided to open with someone fairly well known. We got Billy Taylor to be our main act... Then I started scouting around town. Soon Fred Hersch began playing there. It’s not for Fred now,” says Jones. “It’s a noisy room. We don’t have a quiet policy. We have to combine that we’re a restaurant, kind of in the middle of being what The Cookery and Bradley’s were.” Through the years the number of music nights has varied from seven to the current two. “Right now it’s Friday and Saturday nights from 9:45 until 2 in the morning.”
Following Billy Taylor in 1977 was Junior Mance, who’s returned many times since then and will be back again this month. Mance enjoys the room and speaks with seasoned equanimity about “the noise factor”. “I’ve been in the business so long that I’m able to shut noise out... People come there for dining because the food has always been good there. By the time the music starts most of them are leaving. After that I don’t have any problems. And also, I’m not bragging, but I have built up a following there. When I am there
I always have my same big following... One thing I like about Knickerbocker is they bring in a classy group of musicians - known people who have recorded. I think that’s why we enjoy working there because most of the time people accept what we play and they know what we play.”
Asked to recall some of the stellar players who’ve worked the room, Jones rattles off an impressive list that includes Tommy Flanagan, Major Holley, Cedar Walton, Junior Mance, Steve Kuhn, Joanne Brackeen, Sir Roland Hanna, James Williams, Sam Jones and Mary Lou Williams, who played there frequently in her final years. “They were favorites and I booked them as often as I could... I desperately wanted Gene Harris. I called him out in Idaho and offered to pay his plane fare. I would have broken the bank to get him here...the two guys I can listen to day after day are Harris and Bill Evans.”
Jones lights up as he recalls, “One of the great nights of all time here was Russell Malone and John Pizzarelli playing dueling guitars. That was one of the great nights... When Gap Mangione is here and his brother Chuck is in town, he will sit in sometimes. And of course, I had Harry [Connick] here. I have to tell you about Harry.”
He continues, “I asked Ron Carter if he knew of any young guy, someone willing to play Sunday and Monday nights. Ron had just made an album with Harry at Columbia, said he had chops and why don’t I give him a try. We set up an audition for him to play for me on a Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, this young guy comes in one evening with his girlfriend. Between sets he asked me if he could play a few numbers. I told him it wasn’t our policy and the headliners didn’t like it. Later when the show was over, he went over to the piano and started to play.”
Jones told him he had to leave. “Monday morning comes around and who walks in the door to audition but the kid I threw out! He didn’t say anything and I didn’t say anything. He was terrific. I said, ‘Great! Start next Monday.’” He laughingly adds, “The second night Harry asked me, ‘You don’t mind if I sing a little, do you?’... He shot his first video here. He’s always been a very good friend.”
Considering the demise of so many great clubs, to what does Jones attribute Knickerbocker’s longevity? “We’ve just signed a ten-year lease. I’ve been booking Hilton Ruiz more and more. He’s a real crowd pleaser. I feel bad the room is noisy. Some don’t mind playing here and some do. The biggest appeal here is the food. It’s consistently good value. We’re very serious about the kitchen. And where else in New York City can you hear Junior Mance for a $2 cover charge?”
~ Andrew Velez
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