Gene Kelly as jazz icon: Widow’s program celebrates his art

For Patricia Kelly, the widow, image trustee and biographer of screen dancer Gene Kelly, the connection between the star’s legacy as one of the greats of dance in cinema and the world of jazz music is obvious.

“Gene and jazz are synonymous,” Kelly says on the phone from her home in Los Angeles, “But many don’t realize as a dancer, he’s basically the embodiment of jazz music. In ‘Dancing: A Man’s Game,’ Gene talks about the origin of tap dancing. He says it started as Irish clog dancing and then moved to the American South with the particular movements there; then it blends with jazz music and you get tap. It’s this very American voice, both Gene and jazz.