Horace Tapscott
Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 – February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer.[1] He formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (also known as P.A.P.A., or The Ark) in 1961 and led the ensemble through the 1990s.[2]
He was born in Houston, Texas and moved to Los Angeles, California at age nine. By this time he had begun to study piano and trombone. He played with Frank Morgan, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins as a teenager. After service in the Air Force in Wyoming, he returned to Los Angeles and played trombone with various bands, notably Lionel Hampton (1959-61). Soon after, though, he quit playing trombone and focused on piano.[3]
In 1961 Tapscott formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, with the aim of preserving, developing and performing African-American music. As his vision grew, this became just one part of a larger organization in 1963, the Underground Musicians Association (UGMA), which later changed names to the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA).[3] Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, Butch Morris, Wilber Morris, David Murray, Jimmy Woods, and Guido Sinclair all performed in Tapscott's Arkestra at one time or another.[2] Tapscott and his work are the subjects of the UCLA Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection.[4]
Enthusiasts of his music formed two labels in the 1970s and 1980s, Interplay and Nimbus, for which he recorded.[3]
Discography
As a leader
- Songs Of The Unsung, 1978
- In New York, 1979
- Lighthouse 79, Vol. I, 1979
- Lighthouse 79, Vol. II, 1979
- Autumn Colors, 1980
- At The Crossroads (with Everett Brown, Jr.), 1980
- Live At Lobero, Vol. I (with Roberto Miranda and Sonship), 1981
- Live At Lobero, Vol. II (with Roberto Miranda and Sonship), 1981
- The Dark Tree, Vol. I, 1990
- The Dark Tree, Vol. II, 1991
- Arkestra Live in Chicago, 1993
- Aiee The Phantom, 1996
- Among Friends, 1995
- Thoughts Of Dar Es Salaam, 1997
- Dissent or Descent, 1998
Horace Tapscott Quintet
- The Giant Is Awakened, 1969
Horace Tapscott Sextet
- Dial 'B' For Barbra, 1981
With the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
- The Call, 1978
- Horace Tapscott with The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - Live At I.U.C.C., 1979
- Flight 17, 1997
As composer and arranger
With Sonny Criss
- Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool) (Prestige, 1968)
References
- ↑ Horace Tapscott at AllMusic
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection". Jazz Archival Collections. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Steven L. Isoardi. "Horace Tapscott", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed January 15 2014), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
- ↑ "Finding Aid for the Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection 1960-2002". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
External links
- Horace Tapscott Collection. UCLA. Performing Arts Special Collections.
- Horace Tapscott at Posi-Tone Records
- "A Fireside Chat With Horace Tapscott, by Fred Jung, from Jazz Weekly
- Listening In: An Interview with Horace Tapscott by Bob Rosenbaum, Los Angeles, October 1982 (PDF file)
Bibliography
- Dailey, Raleigh. The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles (review). Notes Volume 63, Number 3, March 2007, pp. 632–634.
- Isoardi, Steven L. The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles. Apr. 2006. 394p. illus. index. Univ. of California, $34.95 (0-520-24591-1).
- Isoardi, Steven L. Songs of the Unsung: The Musical and Social Journey of Horace Tapscott. Duke University Press, 2001.
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