Bill Evans prsents the first annual Rochester Rhythm Tap/Jazz Jam at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre

Sorry it has been so quiet around here for awhile... but I wanted to let you know that Bill Evans will be presenting the first annual Bill Evans-Rochester Rhythm Tap/Jazz Jam, Monday through Wednesday, June 8-10, at 7:00 pm each night at the Downstairs Cabaret Theatre located at 20 Windsor St (near Eastman Theatre, free parking at East End Garage). The Jam will feature Bill Evans (named one of the country's three top tap artists by Dance Magazine), jazz pianist James J. Kaufmann, Courtney World and Leah Fox.

Evans was named one of the USA’s three favorite tap dance artists in the most recent Dance Magazine Readers Poll (along with Savion Glover and Brenda Bufalino). He is known for the dynamic range of his tap and dance, his expressiveness, his musicality and his sense of humor:

Chicago Tap Theatre’s loving tribute to [69]-year-old modern-rhythmic dance barrier-breaker Bill Evans is an experience of intimate and symphonic proportions .... is breadth of experience in ballet, modern and tap dance has molded Evans into a uniquely lyrical-percussive artist. And while fusion might be an easy buzzword to slap onto his merging of styles, he more accurately melds each discipline into the other so that only movement—with no titles attached—remains.—Lucia Mauro, Chicago Tribune

The Rhythm Tap/Jazz Jam will include classic rhythm tap dances performed to live jazz music as a tribute to some of the great African American artists who created the art form, including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Charles “Honi” Coles, Charles “Cholly” Atkins, James “Buster” Brown and Eddie Brown. Other works will include Evans choreography to George Gershwin’s Preludes and Horace Silver’s Song for My Father, as well as his signature a cappella pieces Blues for my Father and Yes, Indeed!

Tickets are $21 general admission (discounts: seniors age 60 and above, groups of 10 or more, full-time students age 22 and under, DCT members). The program is 1.5 hours with no intermission. Note: Online ticketing is not available. To make recommended reservations, please call (585) 325-4370 with a credit card. Also contact them for more information on group discounts and private performances.