Hard to believe it's been 5 years since Frankie95, and five years since Frankie Manning left us ... so much has changed, so much has stayed the same. And again, lindyhoppers converged on New York City to honor and pay tribute to the man who changed our lives.
I was fortunate to be a part of the Frankie100 photography team and had a fabulous opportunity to photograph the Swingin' Frankie's Way at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. An outstanding band, with Dan Levinson, Freddy Hendrix, Charlie Caranicas, Wycliffe Gordon, Barry Cooper, John David Simon, Lauren Sevian, Gordon Webster, Solomon Hicks, Malik McLauren, and Willard Dyson, all under the musical direction of Michael Hashim. George Gee and Chester A. Whitmore shared bandleader duties.
Performers included:
Chester Whitmore, Dawn Hampton, Norma Miller, Mabel Lee, Chazz Young, Steven Mitchell, Nathan Bugh, Brian Lawton, Ray Davis, Samuel Coleman, Jazzmeia Horn; Noël Simoné Wippler; Tia Angelina Andriani, Whitney Marchelle, Joseph Wiggan, Josette Wiggan, Juan Villafane, Kevin St. Laurent, Aqura Lacey, Elijah Avraham, Raphael Thomas, Jennifer Jones, Josie Say, Kristan Jackson, Sara Deckard, Catrine Ljunggren, Sugar Sullivan, Barbara Billups, Ron Parker, Jahmal Chase, Spank acappella with Reginald Rowson, Herman Seay, Bill Hudson and Bernard Taylor, the Harlem HotShots with Jessica Lennartsson, Gabriella Rosati, Mimmi Gunnarsson, Jenny Deurell, Rikard Ekstrand, Fredrik Dahlberg, Felix Berghall and Sakarius Larsson and so many others.
The show, directed by Chester Whitmore, was absolutely outstanding!
© Lynn Redmile Photography