[Artist] Kazunori Kumagai ft. Alex Blake, Bill Ware & Samuel Torres
[Date] Friday, August 28, 2015
[Open] 0:00AM (August 29)
[Show] 0:30AM (August 29)
[Venue] Blue Note New York
[Address] 131 West 3rd Street, New York, NY 10012
[Admission] $10.00 (advance)/$15.00 (at door)
[Reservation] Click here
[Phone] 212-475-8592
[Members]
– Kazunori Kumagai – Tap dance
– Alex Blake – Bass
– Bill Ware – Vibes
– Samuel Torres – Percussion
Kazu Kumagai was born in Sendai City, Japan. He started tap dancing at the age of 15 and came to NY at the age of 19. He trained in FUNK UNIVERSITY, the training workshop for the big hit Broadway musical Bring in da’ Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk. He studied with Ted Levy, Buster Brown, Gregory Hines, Barbara Duffy, and Derick K. Grant.
He made numerous solo appearances all over the world and collaborated with many artists and musicians such as Richard Bona, Omar Sosa, Christian Scott and Hiromi, and appeared in several television commercials such as Sony Cybershot. He also performed in a fashion show in Milan, Italy and recently performed for the watch company CITIZEN`s art installation “Light is Time” and won the Best Entertainment in Milan Design week, where he succeeded in opening up a new field of the arts. In 2008, he opened his first tap dance studio–KAZ TAP STUDIO–in Japan, and has subsequently taught throughout Japan including in his hometown of Sendai City, site of severe damage in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Kaz dedicates his passion and love for the art of tap dance to the great masters such as his mentor Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde, Gregory Hines and others, as well as to the people of Sendai and the Tohoku region where his family and friends live.
