Max Pollak & Afro Cuban Jazz Tap (Direct from New York)

Max Pollak: Percussive dancer and World Music expert. He was born in Vienna, Austria and became known for his work in percussive dance, World Music, tap dance, and choreography. He created "RumbaTap", which merged American Rhythm Tap with Afro-Cuban music and dance.

Afro-Cuban Jazz & Rumba Tap: The idea behind Afro-Cuban Jazz & Rumba Tap began when Max took a class with percussionst Bobby Sanabria. “It changed my life,” Pollak recalls. “We played in a big band, and I had to play different instruments and learn as much as I possibly could.” The learning process included learning Afro-Cuban traditional music, like Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. “That really struck a chord. I told Bobby I was a tap dancer and that I wanted to tap dance to this music. He asked me if I wanted to tap dance to Cuban music, or tap dance Cuban music. Then he reached for the claves,”—the rhythmic base of Afro-Cuban music—“and said, ‘You have to play claves while you dance”, the rest is history.

Catalina Jazz Club: Housed in Hollywood and decked out in a timeless charm, the club offers a cozy ambience under sparkling stage lights garnished with its signature concoction, Jazz. Over the past 36 years, the Catalina Jazz Club has hosted the most illustrious legends of all time from Dizzy Gillespie and McCoy Tyner, to Joshua Redman, Kenny Burrell, and Steve Tyrell, among others.

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