Philadelphia » Calendar » Rhythm And Blues And Shoes at Rittenhouse Soundworks
Rhythm And Blues And Shoes at Rittenhouse Soundworks
Courtesy of Brown Paper Tickets | Posted on May 6, 2017
Where
Rittenhouse Soundworks
219 W. Rittenhouse Street
Philadelphia, PA
Map
215- 704 -7098
When
Sat, May 20, 2017
12:00 am
Save the date
About
Rhythm and Blues and Shoes is about the swing shifts that evolved in jazz music and tap dance from 1945-1955. We embody the evolution of jazz blues from bebop to hard bop and observe the impact that these shifts had on American tap dance. By the time Marshall and Jean Stearns published their seminal book, Jazz Dance, in 1968, the final "Requiem" chapter about master tap dancers of the 1930s and 1940s became a self-fulfilling prophecy for jazz tap.
Bebop jazz drummers like Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Art Blakey took inspiration for many of their complex licks and riffs from tap dancers. As the jazz music evolved and got more complicated, (and fast), the tap dancers of the era found ways to evolve the art form to a place where the shoes fit into the hard-swinging compositions. Even in this post-post bebop-era of dance and music, the idea is still compelling us to return to this music and find new ways to layer the tap instrument into the groove. This concert features the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Timmons, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter and original compositions by Pamela Hetherington. ...