Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 – February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
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.
In 1961, Tapscott formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra,
Enthusiasts of his music formed two labels in the 1970s and 1980s, Interplay and Nimbus, for which he recorded.
From AllMusic:
"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' Leimert Park.
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."
His personal archive of manuscripts, arrangements and recordings was donated to UCLA Library in 2003 by his wife, Cecilia Tapscott.
Discography
As leader
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The Giant Is Awakened (Flying Dutchman, 1969) - as Horace Tapscott Quintet
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Songs of the Unsung (Interplay, 1978)
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In New York (Interplay, 1979)
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Lighthouse 79, Vol. 1 (Nimbus West, 1979 2009)
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Lighthouse 79, Vol. 2 (Nimbus West, 1979 2009)
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At the Crossroads (with Everett Brown, Jr.) (Nimbus West, 1980)
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Dial 'B' for Barbra (Nimbus West, 1981) - as Horace Tapscott Sextet
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Live At Lobero (with Roberto Miranda and Sonship) (Nimbus West, 1981)
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Live At Lobero, Vol. II (with Roberto Miranda and Sonship) (Nimbus West, 1981)
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Little Africa (piano solo) (Art Union, 1983)
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Dissent or Descent (Nimbus West, 1984 1998)
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Autumn Colors (Bopland, 1984; reissue: Interplay, 1990)
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The Dark Tree (HatART Records, 1991) - originally released as two separate volumes and re-released as a 2-CD set
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Horace Tapscott's Arkestra Live in Chicago (1993)
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Among Friends (with Sonny Simmons) (Jazz Friends Productions, 1995 1999)
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Aiee! The Phantom (Arabesque, 1996)
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Thoughts of Dar es Salaam (Arabesque, 1997)
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Live at Théâtre Du Chêne Noir - Avignon, France 1989 (with Michael Session) (The Village, 2020)
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Legacies for Our Grandchildren - Live in Hollywood, 1995 (Dark Tree, 2022) - as Horace Tapscott Quintet
With the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
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The Call (Nimbus West, 1978)
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Flight 17 (Nimbus West, 1978)
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Live at I.U.C.C. (Nimbus West, 1979)
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Why Don't You Listen? Live at LACMA, 1998 (with the Great Voice of UGMAA) (Dark Tree, 2019)
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Ancestral Echoes: The Covina Sessions, 1976 (Dark Tree, 2020)
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Live at Century City Playhouse 9/9/79 (Nimbus West, 2020)
As sideman
With Lou Blackburn
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Jazz Frontier (Imperial Records, 1963)
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Two Note Samba (Imperial, 1963)
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Both titles compiled on The Complete Imperial Sessions (Blue Note, 2006)
With Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble
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Live at Bing Theatre - Los Angeles, 1985 (Dark Tree, 2021)
As composer and arranger
With Sonny Criss
Bibliography
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Dailey, Raleigh. "The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles" (review). Notes Volume 63, Number 3, March 2007, pp. 632–634.
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Isoardi, Steven L. The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles. April 2006. 394p. illus. index. University of California, $34.95 (0-520-24591-1).
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Isoardi, Steven L. Songs of the Unsung: The Musical and Social Journey of Horace Tapscott. Duke University Press, 2001.
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Isoardi, Steven L. The Music Finds a Way: A PAPA/UGMAA Oral History of Growing Up In Postwar South Central Los Angeles. Dark Tree, 2020.
External links
