Horace Tapscott – Horacio
Horace Tapscott – Flight 17
Horace Tapscott – Clarisse
Dug this bit of LA history up at Atomic in Burbank. Horace Tapscott isn’t particularly well known but in jazz circles he is respected as a pianist, bandleader and activist. This album was put together with a 16 piece ensemble of musicians in the U.G.M.A.A. camp, the Los Angeles answer to the A.A.C.M. in Chicago. Records from these groups aren’t particularly easy to find so when I spied this record put on on the group’s own label Nimbus, I jumped on it immediately.
Like the avant-garde in Chicago and New York, the music here is challenging and inspiring, often with African elements in the mix, particularly on “Horacio,” an upbeat number with some great flute and ensemble work to match the percussion. “Flight 17” is an extended piece, which begins with subtle notes from the piano, before erupting about 4 minutes in with the whole group in an insistent and slightly manic theme that carries through to the very end where we get some idyllic flute. “Clarisse” is truly something special, a stately melody with the full group, pensive and powerful, as was the man Horace Tapscott and the music of his groups.
Incidentally, if you want to learn more about Tapscott, the U.G.M.A.A. and the movement of musicians in Los Angeles in the 1970s, you should check out Daniel Widener’s book Black Arts West, published by Duke University Press last year. There’s a full chapter devoted just to Tapscott and these artists and their connections to the Black Panther’s and other groups. Deserving research for a deserved and dedicated group of artists.
Cheers,
Michael