The Squid's Ear Magazine


Tapscott, Horace / The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Ancestral Echoes: The Covina Sessions, 1976 (Dark Tree Records)

A well-recorded studio session from 1976 of pianist, composer and community educator Horace Tapscott with his Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, a large and ecstatic ensemble with superb soloing; previously unissued, this is a major addition to Tapscott's catalog, and includes a 12 page color booklet with detailed information about the band, personnel and the recording.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Horace Tapscott-conductor, pianist

Aubrey Hart-flute

Adele Sebastian-flute

Jesse Sharps-soprano saxophone

Gary Bias-alto saxophone

Michael Session-alto saxophone

Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq-tenor saxophone, bass clarinet

James Andrews-tenor saxophone

Charles Chandler-tenor saxophone

Amos Delone-baritone saxophone

Steven Smith-trumpet

Lester Robertson-trombone

Wendell C. Williams-French horn

Red Callender-tuba

Linda Hill-piano

David Bryant-bass

Marcus McLaurine-bass

Ricky Simmons-drums

Ishmael Balaka-drums

Moises Obligacion-congas

Kamau Daaood-poet

Herbert Callies-alto clarinet

Dadisi Komolafe-alto saxophone

Robert Watt-French horn


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Includes a 12-page color booklet with notes, photos and recording information.

UPC: 3473351000130

Label: Dark Tree Records
Catalog ID: DTRS13
Squidco Product Code: 29609

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: France
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Audiotronics Recording Studios, in Covina, Californai, in January, 1976.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Jazz orchestras are ambitious fiscal undertakings in the best of financial times. Pianist/composer Horace Tapscott led one during the lean decade of the 1970s and he did it out of Southern California where such ventures were even more fraught with the probability of failure. Ancestral Echoes documents one iteration of his large ensemble with surviving material from a rare studio session from January of 1976. Complete details are lost to time, but a reasonable approximation of both personnel and particulars graces an accompanying booklet and paints a vivid picture of Tapscott's activities as an artist, educator, and community leader in Los Angeles. It was a period of transition for group as some of the seasoned players had departed and younger recruits filled the gaps.

Christened with a name that landed in intentional proximity to another bandleader who was both peer and inspiration, Tapscott's group had more in common with Sun Ra's than honorific. Members of the Arkestras lived communally in houses together, rehearsing and engaging in community outreach efforts. Where the two bands differed was in Tapscott's magnanimous approach to collaboration. He regularly encouraged his musicians to hone their compositional skills alongside their improvisational ones. That element of egalitarianism directly informs the four pieces that comprise this collection, beginning with a lengthy foray through "Ancestral Echoes," which benefits as much from spirited ensemble interplay and the Afrocentric poetry of Kamaou Daáood as Tapscott and the other soloists.

"Sketches of Drunken Mary" gains traction on a melancholic vamp forwarded first by Tapscott and percussion and augmented by precision interjections from the horn section. Altoist Michael Session shapes an extended solo steeped in vigorous intervallic contortions followed by a flute foray from Aubrey Hart that is similarly energized with swooping trills and punctuations. Awash in vivid horn riffs and colorful hand percussion, "Jo Annette" taps tenorist Charles Chandler and the French horn of Wendell C. Williams before landing once again on a dynamic keyboard statement by the leader. Nearly a half-hour in duration and action-packed throughout, "Eternal Egypt Suite" is an epic scaled closer. Two other pieces made it to tape, but time constraints preclude their inclusion. Any disappointment from the omissions is easily allayed given that what is included is well worth the price of admission."-Derek Taylor, Dusted Magazine


Includes a 12-page color booklet with notes, photos and recording information.


This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Get additional information at Dusted Magazine

Artist Biographies

"Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 Ð 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.

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.

After service in the Air Force in Wyoming, he returned to Los Angeles and played trombone with various bands, notably Lionel Hampton (1959Ð61). Soon after, though, he quit playing trombone and focused on piano.

In 1961 Tapscott formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, 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). 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.

Enthusiasts of his music formed two labels in the 1970s and 1980s, Interplay and Nimbus, for which he recorded."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tapscott)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Michael Session is a jazz saxophonist, known for the groups Horace Tapscott Quintet, The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, A Touch Of Jazz, Brüning V. Alten's Sunrise Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez New Dallasangeles, Jazz Workshop Ensemble, Silvan Koopmann Bigband, and The Gathering.

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/356357-Michael-Session)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 Ð March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Crew, a group of first-call session musicians in Los Angeles.

Callender was born in Haynesville, Virginia. In the early 1940s, he played in the Lester and Lee Young band, and then formed his own trio. In the 1940s Callender recorded with Nat King Cole, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, Uffe Baadh [Frank Bode] and many others. After a period spent leading a trio in Hawaii, Callender returned to Los Angeles, becoming one of the first black musicians to work regularly in the commercial studios, including backing singer Linda Hayes on two singles. He made his recording debut at 19 with Louis Armstrong's band. However, he later turned down offers to work with Duke Ellington's Orchestra and the Louis Armstrong All-Stars.

On his 1957 Crown LP Speaks Low, Callender was one of the earliest modern jazz tuba soloists. Keeping busy up until his death, some of the highlights of the bassist's later career include recording with Art Tatum and Jo Jones (1955Ð1956) for the Tatum Group, playing with Charles Mingus at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, working with James Newton's avant-garde woodwind quintet (on tuba), and performing as a regular member of the Cheatham's Sweet Baby Blues Band. He also reached the top of the British pop charts as a member of B. Bumble and the Stingers. In November 1964 he was introduced and highlighted in performance with entertainer Danny Kaye in a duet on the Fred Astaire introduced George and Ira Gershwin song, Slap That Bass, for Kaye's CBS-TV variety show.

Callender died of thyroid cancer at his home in Saugus, California."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Callender)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Pianist/Composer/Multi-Instrumentalist David Bryant is a world-class artist. Few musicians today match the versatility, originality, and sensitivity that he brings to the music. He combines an extensive knowledge of the jazz tradition and other diverse musical idioms, as well an individualistic approach and sound; it is no surprise that he is quickly rising to the top of the international jazz scene.

David Bryant was born 1983 in Brooklyn, NY. As a member of a family that encouraged a strong musical upbringing, David started playing piano at age 4. By age 8, he was already competing and ranking in some of the New York area's most prestigious youth classical piano competitions, such as BACA and the Queens College Festival of Music Competition. Four years later, David also began playing cello and trumpet, performing with youth symphonies and chamber programs on all three instruments. As a result of his dedication, he was accepted to New York's prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music and Arts. It was here that David became interested in jazz.

While at LaGuardia, David quickly became an integral part of the Senior Jazz Band and combos as well as the All-City Jazz Band. He won the "Outstanding Soloist" award at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition, as well as being invited to participate in the Monterey Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. His senior year he was selected to the Grammy Foundation's All-American Jazz Combo. In 2001, he received a scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory. He made the most of this opportunity quickly becoming a rising star in Boston's jazz scene. As well as joining the Boston Jazz Reparatory Orchestra (BJRO), he performed weekly at Wally's Jazz Café and Jordan Hall while also performing at Ryles and the Regatta Bar. In 2005 he graduated with a degree in Jazz Performance and a distinction in music.

David currently resides in Manhattan. He is currently a regular member of the Steve Davis Quintet, Myron Walden/Darren Barrett Quintet, Jen Shyu's Jade Tongue and James "Jabbo" Ware's Orchestra. He has also played with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland, Jimmy Heath, Steve Coleman, Kenny Wheeler, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Henderson, Bob Brookmeyer, George Garzone, Eric McPherson, Abraham Burton, and many others in the New York and international jazz scene. He has performed and can be seen in clubs such as Birdland, the Iridium, the Jazz Standard, the Jazz Gallery, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 55 Bar, Barbes, the Knitting Factory, Zebulon, the Jazz Bakery, and the Cotton Club in Tokyo. He has currently recorded projects with Steve Davis, Myron Walden, and Abraham Burton as well as recording and performing with various projects of his own."

-Pi Recordings (https://pirecordings.com/artists/david-bryant/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Ancestral Echoes 19:01

2. Sketches Of Drunken Mary 10:09

3. Jo Annette 13:54

4. Eternal Egypt Suite 27:31

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Large Ensembles
West Coast/Pacific US Jazz
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
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