"One More You Wrote Through Us: Horace Tapscott”

[ghost of miles]

 

This week on Night Lights L.A. jazz historian Steve Isoardi joins us for "One More You Wrote Through Us: Horace Tapscott." In 1961 pianist Horace Tapscott turned down a chance to have a high-profile career with the Lionel Hampton band and spent the next several decades in Los Angeles, leading several community-jazz bands and doing his best to extend the mentoring and teaching tradition that he had experienced growing up during the glory days of L.A.'s Central Avenue era. The underground jazz scene that he helped to create and sustain--a vibrant, multi-arts mix of culture, politics, and African-American values--has now been documented in Isoardi's new book, The Dark Tree: Jazz & the Community Arts in Los Angeles. We'll hear some previously unissued music by Tapscott and UGMAA (Union of God's Musician and Artists Ascension) and the Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra (from a CD included with the new book), along with solo and trio Tapscott piano recordings and a collaboration with Black Panther activist Elaine Brown. "One More You Wrote Through Us: Horace Tapscott" airs Saturday, February 24 at 11:05 p.m. EST on WFIU and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It also airs Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. The program will be posted, along with 12 extra interview clips not used in the show itself, Monday afternoon in the Night Lights archives.

 

Next week: "Alice Coltrane, Ascending."

Edited October 5, 2020 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

The extra interview clips won't be up till tomorrow sometime, but the program itself is now archived.

Edited October 5, 2020 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

Finally have the extra 11 interview clips from author Steven Isoardi up on the page for the archived Horace Tapscott Night Lights show.

Edited October 5, 2020 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

We're rebroadcasting One More You Wrote Through Us: Horace Tapscott this weekend, but it's already archived for online listening. The Leimert Park documentary mentioned in the post is now available on DVD.

Edited October 5, 2020 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

The story of Horace Tapscott seems more relevant than ever in 2020. We re-aired One More You Wrote Through Us: Horace Tapscott with special guest Steven Isoardi this past week on Night Lights, and it remains archived for online listening.

[mjazzg]

Thank you for reposting that. I found it very informative and really rather moving.

I've had the Iosardi book unopened for years, I need to remedy that.  I've now got the Leimert Park film lined up on Vimeo too. I knew nothing about that.

[ghost of miles]

On 10/5/2020 at 1:19 PM, mjazzg said:

Thank you for reposting that. I found it very informative and really rather moving.

I've had the Iosardi book unopened for years, I need to remedy that.  I've now got the Leimert Park film lined up on Vimeo too. I knew nothing about that.

Really glad you enjoyed it.  Steven Isoardi is such a wonderful scholar and commentator on all things Horace, and we were finally able to reactivate the interview outtakes that I had included in the original post for the show.  (WFIU's web platforms have changed over the years, and older shows sometimes include material in the posts with links that no longer work and need to be updated.)

[mjazzg]

Now just finished watching the Leimert Park film.  What a great watch with such inspiring sentiments and actions but sadly falling foul of that international cycle whereby artists are replaced by property developers.

The amount of music credited to "The Tapscott family" makes me hopeful that there's a lot more that could see the light of day, if they so choose.  And finally I understand why his album is titled 'Aieee! The Phantom'.

Thanks again for highlighting this gem