Tapping in A Jazz Club Setting - Even Wynton Marsalis Has a Tapper On Tap!

Stacie Strong | Jun 20, 2008 | there are 0 comments

From time to time, we talk about how important it is to work on improvisation and, if possible, to work with live musicians. Though we think about the issue from the tap dancer's perspective, it's great to see world class jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis hearkening back to the great partnership between jazz and tap, like in this performance with Jared Grimes. There are a few things that we all can learn from this clip.

The first thing we see that even an internationally renowned trumpeter respects tappers as fellow musicians. This is important to those of us who have to educate bookers and audiences who think of us as nothing more than a visual novelty. We are musicians, working within the context of the tune, just like the other instrumentalists. You see that respect even more in this second clip, which shows a rehearsal of the band. Not only do you see the band members supporting Jared by calling out "yeah!" during his solos (jazz musicians are nothing if not vocal!), you also see Wynton directing Jared and the drummer to take a call and response. That's a musical trick - it's not something you do for visual appeal.

Second, notice that Jared is comping quietly to the side during the televised performance (the first clip). A musician who is "comping" (short for "accompanying") supports the other musicians without calling attention to him or herself. Jared is keeping time with his toe. When I work with my band, I sometimes do the same, keeping the two and four beat to give the pianist, in particular, something to work off of, since by having an external beat, the pianist can take more risks, rhythmically speaking, and be sure that the audience follows along. Sometimes I do a more complex rhythm (like a repetitive Latin groove), but that can be distracting to the audience, which tends to watch me if I'm doing anything at all interesting. I know one tapper who steps off his tap map altogether when he's not dancing so that the attention goes to his bandmates. It's something you need to work out with your own band, being aware of the need to support but not distract. You don't want to look like you're "too good" to comp, but at the same time you may need to tell your bandmates that you don't want to pull attention away from them.

Third, notice how Jared keeps his eye on his fellow musicians when they're soloing. By doing that, Jared is helping the audience focus on who's important. You're still on stage, even if you're standing or comping - that's no time for you to space out or make hand signals to your friends. It's disrespectful to the soloist. Also, you never know if the bandleader is going to call a change in the agreed solo order. If a musician has a technical problem (just recently I saw a really good guitarist drop his pick just half a second before his solo), you might get called up earlier to take your solo. You need to be ready at all times.

Fourth, notice how Jared stays within the form of the tune. First everyone does the head (the original tune) once, then the solos begin. Tappers often take the first or last solo - in the televised version, Jared goes last. In the rehearsal, the band seems to want to hear what he has, so he's dancing more. After all the solos, the entire band typically plays the head all together one more time. Jared may be a soloist, but he's not able to do whatever it is he wants - he has to listen to the other players, stick to the form of the song and still be his own individual self. It sounds challenging - and Jared makes it look easy - but it's incredibly fun once you start to get the hang of it. After that, it's just practice, practice, practice until you hang up your shoes! There will always be something to work on - and that's the joy of tap.

So, what do you think of these clips and of tapping as part of a jazz band? Have you ever seen tappers in this kind of context before?