you sound
more like Nat
than the King himself.
What's your name?
Ray Robinson.
Ray Robinson?
I'm Jack Lauderdale,
Swing Time Records.
Oh, hey... hey, hey, Jack!
How you doing, man?
Good.
Oh, good.
How about us makin'
a record together?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Hell, yeah! Let's do that.
Can I help you?
I don't think so.
We're just talking
a little business.
Then you need to talk to me,
'cause I'm his manager.
Whichever way
the wind blows.
It's blowing.
Jack Lauderdale,
Swing Time Records.
Marlene Andres.
Marlene?
Gossie McGee.
Gossie McGee.
Great set, baby.
We're going to talk
with Mr. Lauderdale here.
Come on, Jack.
I'm buying.
I'm coming in, uh,
to talk to him.
You are doing
a fabulous job!
Yes, man.
Eh, look, let's talk to him
about this record.
Hey, no, no, we're gonna
let Marlene handle that.
You get Oberon
to call you a cab, all right.
Great set, Ray.
Goss!
Hey, daddy-o, want a smoke?
I got some gage,
fresh off the boat.
It's clean and seedless.
So that's how it is, huh?
You keep me high
while they talk the business?
I ain't the one
playing you, man.
¤¤
Oberon, listen...
You know, Marlene and Gossie
are the ones running
the game on you, Ray.
What?
They sliced up the pie
the first night you played.
35 percent off the top.
Plus Gossie's
double scale as leader.
Leader?
If anybody's leading the band,
I'm the one
that's the leader.
Forget the bo' humps.
You know what?
L... I'm... I'm gonna go
my own way.
Who's gonna
book your gigs?
Marlene's got you locked up.
And she ain't gonna give up
her golden goose.
¤ Straighten up
and fly right ¤
¤ Cool down, papa,
don't you blow your top ¤¤
Hey, Ray Robinson,
you are fantastic.
There you go.
Give me some skin.
What's that?
Jack's card.
I got his number
at the hotel.
Come on, Q.
It's not that complicated.
Now let's just play it again.
That's a B flat,
C 7, scale it up,
and triple it off
the back end.
Yeah, nigger!
Yeah, that's it.
Ray, what did I tell you
about cookin' in the dark?
Are you tryin'
to burn the house down?
Think about it, Marlene.
Uh... uh, What do I need
the light for?
Well, you don't need
to be cookin' anyway.
We brought you
takeout from Oscar's.
Well, get your money back.
I got fried chicken
right here.
Come on, Seven-oh,
try this.
Yeah! About time.
Hey, that's home-cooked,
right there.
Mmm, no, thank you.
This chicken
is the mostest, huh.
Just needs a little hot sauce
and it'll be perfect.
Yeah. So, what did
Jack Lauderdale have to say?
Oh, I clocked him
comin' out the gate.
He's a two-bit hustler.
Oh, I see.
Yeah, turns out the only hit
that Swing Time ever had
was Open the Door, Richard,
which was a joke record.
Uh... uh... uh, what about him
recordin' me?
Oh, he'll record you,
if we pay the freight.
Scratch a liar,
find a thief.
What's that
supposed to mean?
This.
You see I saw
Jack Lauderdale tonight,
and he gave me a $500
advance on my record.
He also said he'll put me
on the road with Lowell Fulson
and pay me three times
what you pay.
Now, that's a lie!
Hey, no way he's not gonna
put some blind man
on the road. Think about it.
I mean, you... you need
watchin' out for.
And he ain't got the time
to look after you
the way I do.
Is that what
you've been doing, Gossie?
Watchin' out for me?
Is that why you get
paid double what I do?
Who told you that?
It's true, ain't it?
You two have been
gaming me since I got here.
Ray, baby, listen...
I ain't listening to you!
Ray, I've... I've been
meaning to talk to you
about that.
Then why aren't you talkin'?
Um, look, Ray, Ray,
let's not do nothin' stupid.
I might be blind,
but I ain't stupid!
Q., get my bag
from upstairs.
What?
Get it!
Wha... right now?
Now.
Ray, man, we done been
through a whole lot.
Ray, now wait a minute.
I can explain everything.
Think about what you're doing.
Ray, Ray, now you're makin'
a big mistake.
That clown is