Biography
Although largely overlooked today, Vernon Andrade exerted considerable influence as a bandleader during the 1920s and 1930s, when his ensembles dominated New York City’s Renaissance Casino. Recording opportunities remained limited for him, yet his approach and sonic character filtered into the charts of more prominent contemporaries including Fletcher Henderson and Chick Webb. Beyond the musical sphere, his work left a mark on dancer Frankie Manning, one of the originators of the Lindy Hop, who took up the form in his early teens while moving to Andrade’s rhythms. Sunday matinees led by the bandleader at Harlem’s Alhambra Ballroom became local fixtures valued equally for the athletic displays of the dancers and the quality of the music.
Andrade himself entered the field as a teenager, beginning on violin. In the early 1920s he relocated to New York City and took a violin chair in Deacon Johnson’s Orchestra. By 1923 he had moved to double bass and was fronting his own unit at the Renaissance Casino, a post he maintained for fifteen years while an array of distinguished jazz players moved through the ranks. Among them were the accomplished swing drummer Zutty Singleton and the sultry vocalist Helen Humes, who entered the Andrade fold after completing her initial OKeh recording dates.
Andrade himself entered the field as a teenager, beginning on violin. In the early 1920s he relocated to New York City and took a violin chair in Deacon Johnson’s Orchestra. By 1923 he had moved to double bass and was fronting his own unit at the Renaissance Casino, a post he maintained for fifteen years while an array of distinguished jazz players moved through the ranks. Among them were the accomplished swing drummer Zutty Singleton and the sultry vocalist Helen Humes, who entered the Andrade fold after completing her initial OKeh recording dates.
Singles
