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Horace Tapscott with the Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra: Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976
ByPAPA worked as a rotation of musicians that often changed considerably from one project to another. Of the twenty-four known participants on Ancestral Echoes, only flutists Adele Sebastian and Aubrey Hart, and poet/percussionist Kamau Daéood, were part of the live 1972-1981 compilation Live at I.C.U.U. (Soul Jazz Records, 2019).
Daéood, at Tapscott's request, had written the verse that accompanies the pianist's nineteen-minute "Ancestral Echoes," a composition that appeared in a much shorter version on Daéood's Leimert Park (Mama Records, 1996). That album included Tapscott and his regular bassist Roberto Miranda. Daéood's recitation gives way to an extended Tapscott solo after two minutes, morphing into an orchestrated masterwork with electrifying solos from trumpeter Steven Smith and soprano saxophonist Jesse Sharps. Tapscott's quartet of Andrew Cyrille, Cecil McBee, and John Carter recorded "Sketches of Drunken Mary" on the seminal recording Dark Tree (HatOLOGY, 1989), over twenty years after this version. Flutist Hart and alto saxophonist Michael Session create a whirling back-and-forth dialog bookended by Tapscott's expansive solos. At nearly a half-hour, the closing track "Eternal Egypt Suite" features an ethereal Sebastian flute in its opening segment, shifting to an Afro-Cuban theme, free improvisation from tenor saxophonist Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq, and finally, a lush, orchestral finish.
Tapscott's music, particularly with the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra, is traditional in a way we rarely think of as tradition. The pianist/composer created and fostered multiple generations of Watts musicians through the nurturing of a sweeping philosophy of autonomous and organic creation with origins in Africa and South- Central LA. The reality Tapscott presents on Ancestral Echoes, plays out at the crossroad of music and values.
Track Listing
Ancestral Echoes; Sketches of Drunken Mary; Jo Annette; Eternal Egypt Suite.
Personnel
Horace Tapscott
pianoJesse Sharps
saxophone, sopranoGary Bias
saxophone, altoMichael Session
saxophone, altoFauci Abdul-Khaliq
saxophone, tenorJames Andrews
saxophone, tenorCharles Sandler
saxophone, tenorAmos Delone
saxophone, baritoneSteven Smith
trumpetLester Robertson
tromboneWendell C. Williams
french hornRed Callender
bass, acousticLinda Hill
pianoDavid Bryant
pianoMarcus McLaurine
bassRicky Simmons
drumsIsmael Balaka
drumsMoises Obligacion
congasKamau Da'ood
poet / spoken wordHerbert Callies
clarinetAdditional Instrumentation
Dadisi Komolafe: alto saxophone; Robert Watt: French horn.
Album information
Title: Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976 | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Dark Tree Records