The glass doors were reflective. The words “Night Moves” were in script and under it read, “Welcome to Jazz In The City”. Below that read, “Knight Enterprises. 5 William Street, New York, NY.” It was a play on words, Tobias would always say. Night Moves was his pride and joy. It was in essence, his baby. It wasn’t a huge cash cow; actually it barely broke even. But, with his other, more lucrative holdings, he could afford this intimate, quaint little place. His fear was that some respected critic would wander in, have a great time, and tell the world about Tobias’ little secret hideaway. Then the masses would show and his sweet little jazz club would become another hangout for the rich and stupid. The mere thought froze him to the bone.
Regulars compared it to Bradley’s. Room enough for a nice trio, no more than a quartet. Great acoustics. A small but excellent menu, which was not too pricey. Top shelf liquor and since it was labeled a “Private Club” because Tobias made everyone buy a membership to enter you could smoke there. What Tobias didn’t tell anyone willingly was the membership price: ten dollars lifetime. If you had a membership you fell under one of these categories:
1) A friend of the owner or employee
2) A jazz aficionado
3) Someone from the neighborhood who frequented the joint.
4) An employee of Knight Enterprises.
That’s it and, if you fell under category four, you probably had no clue. It was something included in your employment package. Most people overlooked it. Tobias would never advertise who was performing. They would call Len and he would see if the night was free and say sure, come on in. You didn’t get paid. You could play three songs or thirty. But, you better be damn good because the regular crowd at Night Moves truly knew their shit. And if you were mediocre, you were fucked because your rep was going to take a hit. The word would get out. Only the real players would show up. They usually would try out new material or just jam their tails off with someone they always wanted to work with. The best kept secret in New York.
Sometimes dates would wander in and look around. Most would stay. It had a romantic atmosphere. It was comfortable and semi-private. You could seriously get your mack on in Night Moves. A long mahogany bar welcomed you. Some booths in the back. Dimly lit. Smoky. A throwback, his nephew would call it. A few notables were regulars but they understood that Tobias didn’t want publicity. You want to have a release party, go to Jay-Z’s club or Paris Hilton’s. Don’t even attempt to ask Tobias for that. He would look at you with that look he had. The one that would say, “Stop – you don’t want to go there.” And they didn’t.
One night, he sang for two hours. A well-kept secret was that, if he wanted to, Tobias could probably have his own record contract. He had a great voice. Could sing like Luther Vandross with Joe Williams’ phrasing. He sang classics all night. The staff was so enamored that they would routinely ask him to sing and he conceded when they would clean up he would take the mike. They would all sit around after clean up and listen to the boss tear into “Since I Fell For You”, “Everyday I Have The Blues”, “Smokin’ Joe”, “Moody’s Mood For Love”, “One For My Baby”, “Brown Sugar”, and his favorite, “A House Is Not A Home”. Premiere jazz musicians would ask him for arrangements and he would do them without credit. His ghost writing was infamous. Tobias was a strange man but not complicated. He knew how to make money. Pure and simple. And he gave other real estate investors a run in New York. So much so, when he started to venture outside of New York, they all took notice. His properties were high end and quickly bought. He would keep a select few and rent them out. A condo here, an office building there, a golf resort and an entire residential district. He had three post resorts in Europe. Two more in Jamaica. That’s it. And it didn’t help that he knew he had to work out because he liked food way too much. So, he got in shape at the age of 38 and kept it. He had his addictions – fashion, cigarettes, fine bourbon and scotch, music and cars. Sports were a passion he indulged in privately. So were women.
When he found out he was on the “Most desirable bachelor list” he cringed. His picture was in New York magazine because he made the mistake of sitting next to Shawn Carter and Beyonce Knowles at a Knicks game. Once the word was out, he stayed at the club far more frequently. They had no idea he owned it. Until last night.
Ving Rhames and Tobias were friends for years. Ever since they met at a Branford Marsalis concert at Lincoln Center, they were waiting on their rides and struck up a conversation. Next thing you know they’re at Shelly’s having a conversation about Clifford Brown with Branford and his band. After that, they would routinely meet up to hear some good jazz and eat some good food. Ving was one of those people who understood about privacy and respected the fact that Tobias never asked him for anything simply because he was famous. It was Ving’s idea about a jazz club and he was the first member. He had his own table. So when Ving asked him could they tape the jazz club scenes at Night Moves provided he never showed the outside of the club, Tobias had no problem with it. Then “Kojak” took off. Became a media darling and the word got out. Ving apologized, but he didn’t need to. Tobias didn’t blame his friend for the intrusion; it was some grip that was clueless. So when three critics came by and later reviewed the club in Time Out, the Times and Citysearch, Tobias knew the masses would stop gawking and come in. Damn.
To top it off, Prince wanted to jam there after his concert. He had John Legend, Alicia Keys, and some others with him. These teenagers found out and they besieged the place. Prince literally begged Tobias to let them in. He relented and they came back for a month thinking it was the hip place to be. When he finally got his place back, he said never again. Even Prince felt bad that he had done that to his friend and swore he would never have an after-jam there again. Tobias told him it was cool, don’t sweat it. He could play there anytime he wanted just don’t bring the youngins again. Prince agreed.
What was done was done. So, Tobias made some subtle changes. He would open the club at midnight and close at six. He would institute an age limit. And the membership rule would be strictly enforced. Also, you had to be at least a couple. For every male there had to be a female and vice versa. Once all these rules came into play, the crowd dwindled quickly. After three months, he went back to the old way of doing things. He still had the occasional crowd come by, but he could live with it.
Now, all that might change. Jazz clubs were making a major comeback in New York and Night Moves’ reputation as a premier spot was making noise. Tobias had to make a decision because no amount of rules would keep the masses away. He made one major change. Night Moves would only be open Monday thru Friday. No weekends for the public. Only if you had something that he instituted called a “Premier Membership” could you enter on the weekends. You got one of those by invitation only. It was the only way he could find peace.
With his worst fear finally realized, Tobias made damn sure there would be no other fallout. He believed in the purity of the music. That had to be preserved. He would honor the legacy of The Blue Note, The Village Vanguard, Bradley’s, The Village Gate, Birdland, The Lennox Lounge, Iridium, and the newly legendary Smoke. It was a matter of honor. New York, Chicago, Kansas City and Los Angeles jazz history was long and revered. He decided a “Night Moves” jazz club would live in each city. He would have artists spread the word that they now had safe haven in an unruly musical landscape. The legend would live. The music would be respected and submitted to the masses as it was meant to. For the first time in many years, Tobias Knight felt happy. For the first time in too many years, Tobias Knight smiled.
