While many may believe speaking with feet alone is near impossible, tap dancing magician Savion Glover spoke volumes all over the CFA Mainstage Theatre Thursday night without uttering a word.
Tapping of off the smooth, blues-fused sound of the McCoy Tyner Trio, Glover kept a packed crowd intertwined with tap streaks that lasted five minutes long, keeping rhythm with Tyner's piano.
Meanwhile, bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt kept up with the pace, both taking their turns to shock and awe with through their respective instruments.
"He's barely moving but there's so much sound," said Williamsville resident Tracy Fisher, referring to stints such as an impressive game of "he said, he said," in which both Gravatt and Glover offered their own beats and tempo. Each performer echoed, and added onto the sound, testing their respective talents.
And while the performances were stock-full of chord shifts, improved solos, Cannon walking down the bass line with a stoic ease, and feet moving ten times faster than the penguins from Happy Feet (Glover choreographed the dance routines for lead penguin Mumbles), it was the show's relaxed tone that made it all look so easy.
"[It is] the simplistic things he's doing, just keeping the beat," Fisher said.
After a lengthy intermission, the trio returned, sans-Savion, and played off each other. Each musician going off on riffs, the other two following close behind the beat, illustrating the off-kilter, "barely wrong, barely right" style that distinguishes jazz from other genres.
While not completely in sync with each other, the three old pros were comfortable with the uncomfortable sound they were forming. The audience, however, didn't seem as comfy with the offbeat improvisation, with anxious whispers of "Where's Savion?" surfacing as the trio went into their second song alone.
Minutes later, Glover returned to the stage, matching relieved sighs with a tap turn that started low-key, bouncing off Tyner's piano. The tap master soon lead Tyner and the gang, increasing pulse and eventually tapping alone on stage, his counterparts watching in awe.
"I couldn't even imagine doing anything that fast," said Emily Bitgood, Fairport resident and high school dancer.
Winning a 1996 Tony Award for his choreography of the Broadway show Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, Glover has been involved in everything from theatre performance to film and television.
"I know Savion Glover from his 'Sesame Street' days," Fisher said, referring to Glover's five-year recurring role on the children's show.
The dancer also made his film debut alongside tapping greats Sammy Davis, Jr. and Gregory Hines in the 1989 film Tap, a prelude to his heartbreaking performance in Spike Lee's 2000 media-satire Bamboozled.
That being said, Tyner is no slouch in the credentials department. Spanning over a half-century as a jazz-pianist, the musician played with legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, part of The John Coltrane Quartet for five years. After garnering a 1972 Grammy nomination for his album Sahara, Tyner spent the rest of his career exploring the roots of jazz, from African to Latin influenced.
Despite Tyner's ripe 69-year-old age, the pianist looked calm, steady and stylish throughout the show, working along with the young Glover like a mentor does his student, if said student was one of the world's greatest tap dancers.
Tyner re-introduced Glover and the trio and walked off stage casually to a standing ovation that evolved into encore applause. The performers came back out in minutes, giving their fans one last taste of non-vocalized voice, thanking the crowd with fingers and feet.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
