Horace Tapscott Explained

Horace Tapscott
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Horace Elva Tapscott
Birth Place:Houston, Texas, U.S.
Birth Date:April 6, 1934
Death Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Instrument:Piano, trombone
Occupation:Musician, composer
Years Active:1950s–1990s
Label:Arabesque

Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 – February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. 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.[1]

Early life

Tapscott was born in Houston, Texas, and moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 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.

Later life and career

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.[2]

In 1961, Tapscott formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra,[3] 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 name to the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA).[2] Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, Butch Morris, Wilber Morris, David Murray, Jimmy Woods, Nate Morgan and Guido Sinclair all performed in Tapscott's Arkestra at one time or another. 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.[2]

From allmusicguide.com:

"His pianistic technique was hard and percussive, likened by some to that of Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols and every bit as distinctive. In contexts ranging from freely improvised duos to highly arranged big bands, Tapscott exhibited a solo and compositional voice that was his own."

Death and legacy

Having been suffering from brain cancer, Tapscott died aged 64 on February 27, 1999, the day before a planned tribute concert in his honor took place at Los Angeles' Leimart Park.[5]

An engraving in the sidewalk along Degnan Boulevard in the Leimert Park neighborhood reads: "Horace Tapscott, the local pianist and organizer whose ensemble, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, gave many musicians their first gigs and helped heal a community impacted by racism."[6]

His personal archive of manuscripts, arrangements and recordings was donated to UCLA Library in 2003 by his wife, Cecilia Tapscott.[7]

Discography

As leader

With the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra

As sideman

With Lou Blackburn

With Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble

As composer and arranger

With Sonny Criss

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection . 2008-04-13 . Jazz Archival Collections . University of California, Los Angeles . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080506215506/http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/music/mlsc/collection.cfm?id=368&f=jazz . 2008-05-06 .
  2. Isoardi . Steven L. . Horace Tapscott.
  3. Book: Litweiler, John. The Freedom Principle. 1984. Da Capo. 0306803771. 297.
  4. Web site: Finding Aid for the Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection 1960-2002. 2008-04-13 . Online Archive of California.
  5. News: The Last Days of Horace Tapscott. Jocelyn Y. . Stewart. Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1999.
  6. News: Horace Tapscott Was a Force in L.A. Jazz. A New Set May Expand His Reach. The New York Times. Marcus J.. Moore. June 15, 2023.
  7. Web site: UCLA Library preserves the legacy of jazz pianist, composer Horace Tapscott. Sally. Marquez. UCLA Newsroom. May 2, 2023. January 12, 2024.

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