TIM MESSINA, Music Director and woodwinds, studied at the Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory. He also studied privately with clarinet virtuoso Eddie Daniels and saxophonist George Coleman. In addition, he had the good fortune to work with Dizzy Gillespie. Tim has recorded with Tony Bennett, Prince, U2 and Bob Dylan, various film soundtracks and has played in the pit orchestras for numerous shows on Broadway including Cabaret, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Dream Girls and Sophisticated Ladies. Tim currently tours with the Brian Setzer Orchestra as sax soloist and musical director.

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JOE ROTONDI, pianist, began studying piano with his father, Joe Rotondi, Sr., at age five. A Grammy Award winner, he has toured internationally and with many Latin jazz greats: Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Poncho Sanchez, Paquito D’Rivera, Alex Acuna, Nestor Torres and with renowned Salsa artists Celia Cruz, Israel Cachao Lopez and Giovanni Hidalgo. Joe was the regular pianist on the Paul Rodriguez TV show. He has performed with Doc Severinsen and with pop acts, Jose Feliciano, Vikki Carr, and Ricky Martin. His recording credits include CD’s with Herb Alpert, master congero Francisco Aguabella, Tolu, KLON Latin Jazz All stars, Latin jazz violinist Susie Hansen and Pete Escovedo. Joe recorded two albums with the famous Mexican composer, Armando Manzanero, is featured on Linda Ronstadt’s Grammy Award winning album, Frenesi, and can be heard on the soundtracks of Dirty Dancing and Mambo Kings.

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CHRIS BLONDAL, drummer, was born in the Pacific North West and started playing drums at the age of 4. Training began with the principal percussionist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and later with Joe Porcaro, Alex Acuna, David Garabaldi, Richard Wilson, Carlos Vega and Joe LaBarbera. Chris has performed and recorded with Mark Isham, Chris Standring, Pete Christlieb, The Diamonds, Bo Diddley, The Coasters and the nationally touring production, I Love Lucy Live on Stage. He has recorded on many film scores including: Fight Club, Nurse Betty, Gun Shy, Wild Wild West and The Slums of Beverly Hills. Chris currently leads his own Jazz trio.

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MONTI ELLISON, is an accomplished percussionist/drummer, composer and vocalist. He has performed worldwide as a soloist with Harry Belafonte, Stephanie Mills, Lonnie Liston Smith, Little Steven and others. As a dance musician he spent 15 years at the Alvin Ailey School in New York where he was head staff musician. Monti teaches African dance and drumming; he is an accompanist and/or faculty member at Loyola Marymount University, Orange Coast College, CSU Long Beach and The Wooden Floor. He has composed numerous dance scores: Judith Jamison’s Divining for the Alvin Ailey company, a percussion score for the New York based Urban Arts Corps’ production of Alice in Wonderland directed by Vinette Carroll and choreographed by Talley Beatty, J5A6Z7Z8 for jazz choreographer Jose Meier, as well as Dat’s Right, Espiritu, Riptide, Stroke of the Oarsmen, Deciduous Dances, Wade, Chugarump, FOIL/Copper, Zinc, Brass, Ode To Hummingbirds and Boot Brigade for Rhapsody In Taps, plus many compositions for the Monti Ellison Percussion Ensemble.

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BOB FERNANDEZ, is a world-class percussionist. He has received degrees from CalArts and did Doctoral work at USC. He has studied Afro-Cuban music with masters Pedro Orta, Francisco Aguabella and Angel Bolanos, and traditional and contemporary styles of Cuban percussion with Maestros Changuito and Roberto Viscaino. Bob is presently on the faculty at California State University, L.A. where he teaches Afro Latin and Classical percussion. He has worked with John Cage, John Adams, Frank Zappa and did a three-year tour with Barry Manilow. Bob has performed on numerous feature films including Nightmare on Elm Street Part II, Murder in Texas, Rapid Fire, Virtuosity and Species, and also commercials for Lexus, Microsoft and DHL. He most recently authored a book The Afro-Cuban Folkloric Musical Tradition - A Practical Guide for Percussionists.

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BRUCE STONE, on upright and electric bass, is originally from southern Arizona, has a number of television and film credits such as The Byron Allen Show, Married With Children, Ghost Dad and The Naked Truth. Bruce has recorded with Henry Mancini, Brian Bromberg, Keiko Matsui, Theodore Bikel and others. Additionally he has performed in major theatrical productions including Five Guys Named Mo, Company and Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris. Bruce continues to perform locally and on tour with artists including Burt Bacharach, Keiko Matsui, Connie Stevens and Terry Wollman, and he has many years of experience in dance accompaniment.

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JIMMY FISHER, Jimmy Fisher (Guest Artist) studied tap dance with Joy Hewitt and others before becoming a tap improvisation soloist at Anaheim Disney’s New Orleans’ Square, working with numerous bands for several years. He performed with Rhapsody In Taps, the Jazz Tap Ensemble and various shows and industrial gigs across the United States and Europe. Jimmy was a featured dancer in the first national tour of Caution, Men at Work: TAP, and he danced on the Gregory Hines’ Show. He is presently exploring the musicality of tap dance through his free Tap Ninja website at http://www.tap.ninja, from which his free Tap Ninja smartphone app may be accessed on the App Store and Google Play. Jimmy is also presently developing a new website concept dedicated to the exploration of foot percussion through unedited tap dance improvisation, accessible at http://www.unpolishedexpression.com.

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STEVE ZEE, has danced with many noted tap dancers including Gregory Hines and the Nicholas Brothers. He has been a member of Rhapsody In Taps, a featured soloist in the Jazz Tap Ensemble, an artist in residence at the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and has performed and taught across the United States, Canada, Brazil and Germany. Steve edited the Oral History/Biography of tap master Stan Kahn, which is on file at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum and he has made three instructional tap videos. As a theater artist, Steve trained at UCLA, the Sorbonne/Universite de Paris III and with the Piccolo Teatro di Milano. He is currently on faculty at Cal State Long Beach, the Culver City High School Academy of Visual and Performing Arts and is the Artistic Director of LA Ironworks, a new nonprofit arts organization for young aspiring tap dancers.

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ARTHUR DUNCAN*, is a tap dancer, vocalist and actor who has performed throughout the world. He was a featured personality in the movie, "Tap," starring Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. and toured in the Broadway show "My One and Only" with Tommy Tune. Arthur joined Bob Hope on several tours, performed both at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. His television credits include guest appearances in "Diagnosis of a Murder" with Dick Van Dyke, "Columbo" with Peter Faulk, and was a regular on the weekly "Lawrence Welk Show," to name just a few. Arthur is a dedicated mentor and shares his experiences through lecture demonstrations and master tap classes.

*Arthur Duncan is available on a limited basis for guest appearances with Rhapsody In Taps.

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The late, great, BOB CARROLL (Sept 28,1966 - Oct 13, 2014) was a soloist and company member with Rhapsody In Taps from 1994-2011. His credits include tap in film, television and stage productions. His mentor was the late Louis DaPron. Bob was a former member and soloist with Manhattan Tap and was part of the original cast and touring company of Caution: Men at Work Tap. He worked as a tap coach/advisor for 20th Century Fox Studios and with many noted choreographers including Heather Cornell, Alfred Desio, Twyla Tharp, Don Chrichton and Debbie Allen. He danced in an L.A. based rock and roll tap show, Scuffed Up. Bob taught workshops in the U.S. and Japan and also enjoyed hiking, camping, and playing drums.

For more information please visit our Honoring Bob Carroll page.

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