This L.A. jazz duo creates improvised magic with tap shoes and piano keys

In a quiet backyard nestled in the Sherman Oaks hills, seasoned jazz musician Larry Goldings begins to play the punchy opening notes to Van Halen’s “ Jump ” on his prized melodica. With Goldings playing the piano and Sullivan providing rhythmic beats through her tap shoes, the two improvise music together and bust out smooth, soulful renditions of musical theater classics, like “Somewhere” from “West Side Story.” Drawing from the worlds of jazz music, funk, commercial dance and underground tap, their eclectic collaboration has amassed them a dedicated fan club over Instagram and Patreon, who seek out their improvised magic in clubs all over Southern California. “I feel like my dancing has really changed so much since working with him.” “I haven’t played with any dancers who are more like a jazz musician and a drummer than a dancer,” Goldings adds. “I’ve watched their ‘Billy Boy’ at least a dozen times — it’s two minutes of pure bliss.” He explains that part of what makes this jazz duo so remarkable is that the two of them are like a new kind of jazz piano trio: Goldings’ covers piano and bass while Sullivan’s tap dancing becomes a third hand. Sullivan and Goldings’ musical collaboration recalls the history of jazz and tap, two art forms that developed alongside one another and have been crucial to one another’s evolution over the last century.