Jazz Articles about Horace Tapscott

About Horace Tapscott

Album Review

Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble: Live at the Bing Theater; Los Angeles, 1985

Read "Live at the Bing Theater; Los Angeles, 1985" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
March 18, 2021

Roberto Miranda has appeared on almost one-hundred albums but has been lightly recorded as a leader, and inexplicably struggled to generate interest among labels. Dark Tree Records has released some great Horace Tapscott performances from the '70s and '80s. The label resurrected a Miranda-led session on Live at the Bing Theater; Los Angeles, 1985. Recorded at the USC campus auditorium, the sound is pristine, and the ambiance, eclectic and dynamic. Miranda studied bass with Ray Brown and Red ...

Radio & Podcasts

Roots Magic, Audio Cave Artists & Alan Braufman

by Maurice Hogue
September 9, 2020

A new release by the Italian Quartet Roots Magic is always welcome. Their contemporary and improvisatory approach to old blues tunes and the way they always put their own touch on the music of avant-garde jazz composers is kind of unique on the European scene. Take Root Among the Stars, out on Clean Feed, should be right up there with the best of 2020 releases. Also from Italy comes music by the The Auanders, a larger ensemble formed initially for ...

Album Review

Horace Tapscott with the Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra: Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976

Read "Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
August 1, 2020

When pianist/composer/conductor Horace Tapscott founded the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra (PAPA) in 1961, it was by design a support collective for all arts, bringing pride to the black community, specifically that of South-Central Los Angeles. PAPA signified social activism, teaching empowerment, and advocating Tapscott's belief that channeling African ancestral roots was a key to succeeding. Tapscott, who died in 1999, had forsaken wider recognition to bring music and teaching to his community, but his catalog has seen a revived interest ...

Album Review

Horace Tapscott with the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and the Great Voice of UGMAA: Why Don't You Listen? - Live at LACMA, 1998

Read "Why Don't You Listen? - Live at LACMA, 1998" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
July 14, 2019

In every decade since the 1960s, dedicated listeners have called for the world to get hip to the music of Horace Tapscott. In 1963 he formed the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in Los Angeles. Like Chicago's Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians (AACM) and St. Louis' Black Artists Group (BAG), Tapscott's collective was formed to serve his local scene. Also, and this is probably more significant, his efforts were focused on community organizing and the empowerment of his people. His ...

Album Review

Horace Tapscott with the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Live at I.C.U.U.

Read "Live at I.C.U.U." reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
June 16, 2019

Twenty years after his death, pianist-composer Horace Tapscott is receiving the accolades that largely passed him by at the peak of his career. Firmly ensconced in the Los Angeles jazz scene, his recording career as a leader began in 1969 when his quintet released The Giant Is Awakened (Flying Dutchman). Aiee! The Phantom (Arabesque, 1996) was the last album issued in his lifetime, and there have been very few posthumous releases. 2019 has seen a resurgence of interest in Tapscott's ...

Album Review

Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree

Read "The Dark Tree" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
June 6, 2019

The year of writing this review, 2019, is the thirtieth anniversary of the recording of The Dark Tree. It is also the twentieth anniversary of the passing of Horace Tapscott, a forgotten master of politically engaged African American spiritual jazz. The album, which is among Tapscott's finest, is crying out for a 2019 anniversary reissue. STOP PRESS! 7/25/19: The album has been reissued. Of course, to describe Tapscott as “forgotten" is only true of mainstream jazz history. His ...

Radio & Podcasts

October Birthday Salutes

by Marc Cohn
November 2, 2018

Towards the end of every month, we celebrate the birthdays of famous and not so famous jazz musicians, physically or spiritually living. This month we feature Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk. Art's centennial is in 2019; so consider this as a warm-up. In addition, we are able to celebrate Horace Tapscott in style because we have a rare vinyl pressing of his Songs of the Unsung on (Interplay)--we hear that an available CD of this has been edited and incomplete. ...