Tap artist jazzes up classical rhythms

NEW YORK — It's not every night that musicians at a classical concert are given their own improvisational solos — unless, of course, it's "Classical Savion," and the only instruments the star possesses are his shoes.

Savion Glover returned to the Joyce Theater this week (through Jan. 23), and the king of tap brought some old friends (members of the jazz quartet The Otherz) and some new (10 classical musicians and conductor Robert Sadin).

What followed was a joyous two-hour blending of cultures that also was pure Savion.

Tapping to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and the first movement of Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3," Glover's percussive accompaniment lent the audience new ears.

Whether filling in the spaces between the notes with his nuanced, staccato rhythms, punctuating crescendos or hammering away against the melody, Glover's feet managed a rare feat, simultaneously reimagining the music and allowing its vibrant essence to come to the fore.

But one would miss much simply listening.

His wooden platform flanked by tiers of musicians, Glover's typically explosive visual interpretation of the music, though perhaps a bit more subdued during the classical pieces, offered as much excitement as its aural counterpart.

Long dreadlocks piled atop his head and loose Armani suit drenched in sweat, he whipped his lanky frame through spins and slides, often closing his eyes, grinning and stroking the air with his hands like a disc jockey massaging his turntables.

As Sadin pointed out mid-concert, Glover brings back to classical music a rhythmic intensity that has "slowly been slipping away." This music was meant to accompany dancing and is grand enough to accommodate ballroom or tap.

Collaboration and competition are often synonymous in tap, and Sadin's lighthearted repartee with Glover (who always plays well with others) revealed much admiration and fondness. At one point, as the fourth movement of Mendelssohn's "Octet in E Flat Major" drew to a close, Glover stood just behind Sadin, his back also to the audience. His arms flaring out at unpredictable angles, Glover was like a shadow conductor, urging on his own, internal orchestra.

As Bach's meditative "Air from Suite No. 3 in D Major" filled the theater, Sadin stepped out of the conductor's platform and Glover poured a cup of sand across it, skating the edges of his shoes through the powder to add a scratchy texture to the music, like static on an old record. The dance paid tribute to the late Gregory Hines, whose framed photograph on the piano remained spot-lit throughout the show.

Following the classical works, The Otherz joined the fray. The unexpected but blissful combination served as a reminder that tap itself is a child of many cultures.

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On the Net: www.joyce.org