Fifty-Three and Still Swinging

When it comes to vitality in a band, there's few that can measure up to the stamina of The Skyliners, now in its 53rd year.

Although the band has been through many lineups since its birth in 1950, it has stayed true to the preservation of the Big Band sound of the 1930s and '40s. And, even though it is the longest continually playing Big Band in Acadiana and has an impressive tenure for any genre, The Skyliners have only recently released their debut CD. The CD, titled Saturday Night after the slot the band once held at Cedar Lane Club in Opelousas, is a live recording of a performance in Lafayette.

The band was created in 1950 by Charlie Aillet, who played lead alto with the Harry Greg Orchestra at Toby's in Lafayette, and Kenny Bowen, the future mayor of the Hub City. The pair would dub the band The Skyliners after a previous group Aillet performed with in the Air Force. The band grew quickly and soon found itself playing at the Cedar Lane Club. Their performances were aired every Saturday night on what was known as the Mutual Broadcasting System, at the time one of the largest radio networks in the nation. Several of their gigs were even broadcast coast-to-coast. Before long, the band could be found all over Lafayette, playing private parties, Mardi Gras functions, performing at Toby's three times a week and even hosting a television show.

In the late 1970s, Aillet and Jack McCabe - a trombonist known as the Lone Arranger who would later arrange most the band's music - formed the Friends of Jazz, which later became The Big Band Dance Club and was sanctioned by the Acadiana Arts Council.

The club was their way of trying to keep the music alive, figuring that if people paid dues and joined the club, they would be more likely to come out to their dances, according to Jeffery David, the group's lead vocalist and manager.

As far as today's Skyliners go, the 17 musicians, two vocalists and one director/conductor read as a who's who of local talent, with some of its members also playing in the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and the Lafayette Concert Band.

Helping to galvanize it all is David. A 69-year-old going on 29, he joined the band three years ago after recording an album, My Juanita Marie, in tribute to his late wife of 47 years.

According to David, before the recordings he hadn't really sung in many years. After getting back into the swing of the vocal bag, he tried out for a vocalist position with then-manager John Landry. David made the cut, and when Landry retired, he became general manager.

David began his career as a vocalist when he was a child, often singing with piano accompaniment. He had, however, never performed with a band, he says.

Concerning his current role with The Skyliners, it is less about seeing his name in lights and more about preserving something he loves ... those swinging sounds, he says.

"My generation is passing on and the generation before me. But the music will live on forever," says David.

"Keep that music going!" he continues. "That's my mission in life; that's why I don't mind spending money; that's why I don't mind not deriving any money from this. I get my love from the satisfaction of keeping Big Band music alive, and I love to sing."

Before the release of their debut album, the band was held back by the economic burden of putting out a CD. When David came along, he put the music first and underwrote the band, helping to release the disc.

In another selfless move, the band has also applied for nonprofit status, so it can perform more benefits and give back to the community that has supported them.

Another project David and the band are looking to tackle is raising The Skyliners' profile in the community. Even though they've been around for nearly a lifetime, Lafayette's music fans seem to be so focused on other genres, so they haven't taken notice of The Skyliners.

As an example, David relates an experience that happened when the band played for the Festival of Lights in the Oil Center. After their set was finished, audience members approached him befuddled and commented that they didn't know there was a band like this in Lafayette and asked, "How long have you been together?" expecting a low number.

Although the band is looking to promote its music to a younger audience, it hasn't forgotten about the fans who helped make their Big Band sounds a favorite. And to honor them, the band recently moved into new digs at American Legion Post 69, an action that was encouraged by the recently deceased Post Commander Lester Guidry.

It was for this crowd that David says he has always enjoyed performing and has given him memories that he will never forget.

One night, the band was performing at the Hilton Lafayette & Towers for the 56th anniversary of the Marines' capture of Iwo Jima when David stepped onto an elevator with an elderly couple. The wife was tending to her wheelchair-bound Marine veteran husband when she asked David if he could sing them "Fly Me to The Moon," and he obliged.

Later during the show, her husband motioned for David to come over.

"(He) said, 'If you fellas could play a waltz, very slow, I think I could get out of this chair and dance with my wife.' I said, 'You got it,'" says David.

The band cranked up a slow waltz, and she pushed him up to floor. In a very dramatic moment, she helped him up, they stood in a tiny circle, and he started to dance.

"I was so choked up," recalls David. "Ah, what a moment! I said something on the mic; I don't remember what I said. All I know is whatever I said we got a standing ovation."

According to him, it was just another example of music being good for the soul.

"You know like all of us my age, I get a little trouble with arthritis and knee joints and all of that stuff," says David. "But once I get out on that floor and the music starts playing, the adrenaline starts moving and I forget about it. And I have no pains, no way no how. Now, come 11 or 12 o'clock at night when I go to bed, it may be a different story," laughs David.

"Music is good for the soul, and dancing is good for the body. You talk about exercise. When people say you don't get enough exercise, join our club ... come and dance."