Jazz.
There is nothing better in the education of a tapper than the instruction of a good drummer. Real percussionists do far more than keep time, they serve as the foundation, backbone, and elaboration of the musical experience. Percussion speaks to our souls and enters our bodies, reminding us that we are all born into rhythm and nursed inside the tight drums of our mothers bellies. There is a large distance between tapping, dancing, to the music, and using the tap form to become a percussionist, a part of the band. A good percussionist needs to know nothing about tap other than that it lets you make sounds to teach a dancer about rhythm, syncopation, and phrasing. The key, I have been told, is in the doing.
Recently we, myself and several hundred musicians, artists, and friends celebrated percussionist and instructor Kenny Reed in an eight-hour concert to raise funds for his dialysis. Kenny, founder and lead man for Stone Cold Jazz, cut his chops in New York as a percussionist for Sesame Street and on air as a DJ among many other things. He made his way west and now has landed in Oregon. Kenny is old-school jazz, knows every tune in the book, wears a sharp suit, and carries his drumsticks wherever he goes; in case of emergency drumming. We are glad to have him as mentor, artist, and friend.
To give to the Kenny Reed Fund contact:
To listen/watch early Sesame Street:
To Listen to Stone Cold Jazz
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