Horace Tapscott: 60 Years

In the world of the The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, it is impossible to separate community and music. The band is all from the South Central LA community, and they are playing for the community. They are composing songs about family, about people they see, about overcoming immense adversity.

There is a distinct sound to this band, which first and foremost is the sound of its founder and leader, Horace Tapscott. It is deep, often accompanied by two or three basses, two or three percussionists, and at least one drummer. It has African sounds, but it has also got folk sounds, a love of waltzes, and a direct lineage to Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk as well as Andrew Hill and Randy Weston. It is largely modal/spiritual, and that sound is fully formed in the oldest known recording of PAPA from 1961, released on 2023's 60 Years compilation, which is entirely made of previously unheard performances over six decades. "The Golden Pearl," written for Tapscott's grandmother, features a young Arthur Blythe and a few other members, like trombonist Lester Robertson, aka Lately, and bassist David Bryant, who would still play with the band over three decades later. The recording is mastered as well as can be expected considering it is a home taping, but to anyone accustomed to the sound of Tapscott and PAPA, it is a warmly familiar sound.

Tapscott felt that the connection to community was far more important than putting out records, and so the band went unrecorded until, to the band's desire but against Tapscott's wishes, they agreed to record their first album at the end of the 1960s. By 1971, that was in the rearview and the band kept playing as frequently as ever, still not looking for more releases or even touring the rest of the country and the world. "Little A's Chant" features vocals by Linda Hill, whose house was the first PAPA practice area and likely the place "The Golden Pearl" was recorded. This one pays tribute to a PAPA member recently deceased, Herbert Baker, who would get half of the 1978 Flight 17 (Nimbus West, 1978) album for his compositions, and who was Tapscott's mentee and well ahead of his years; his death in a car accident was at the young age of 20. Perhaps it is no surprise that Tapscott's solo is so moving here as it goes from tender to propulsive without skipping a beat. Here, Baker's words are lifted high on that lovely voice and another important piece of band history is discovered. Ten years later, PAPA was being recorded and released much more frequently, but it was hardly moving up the charts. No matter, the band continued as usual, and the 1981 track "Nation Rising," written by Somaya "Peaches" Hassan, is another vocal number that spotlights Tapscott's incredible arranging skills, the band's groove, and saxophonist Sabir Mateen's wonderful sound.

Tapscott went through a renaissance of sorts in the 1990s, starting with the legendary HatART albums The Dark Tree Parts 1 and 2. (HatART 1991 and 1992) Tapscott was playing with top players on that one, and by 1995, the entirety of PAPA featuring Arthur Blythe was invited to the Moers festival in Germany. This gig is well known to Tapscott fans from a bootleg. The sound on "Ballad for Deadwood Dick" is much better here and it would be great to hear it all cleaned up and released properly. This track has Tapscott's familiar propulsive piano runs but also percussion right out of a cowboy movie and noir sounding swinging to boot. Along with the studio albums put out at this time, it would seem that Tapscott was finally ready for his spotlight but sadly lung cancer took him far too young in 1999.

PAPA, as Tapscott wanted it, moved on and remains a force of nature playing the LA area and others as well. Two tracks document where the band went and both show the group continuing to keep that sound alive. Ultimately, this may not be the best place for a new fan to start (try the Dark Tree albums, Dial 'B' for Barbra (Nimbus West, 1981), or go all in with Live at IUCC (Nimbus West 1979). All the same, kudos to the Village label for putting this great package together, hopefully the first of many more to come.

Comments