We use cookies on our website to provide you with the best experience. Most of these are essential and already present.
We do require your explicit consent to save your cart and browsing history between visits. Read about cookies we use here.
Your cart and preferences will not be saved if you leave the site.

Horace Tapscott

Horace Elva Tapscott (1934 - 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was something of a moral leader for California's free-jazz community. In 1959 he established the multimedia 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 and led the ensemble through the 1990s.

Horace Elva Tapscott (1934 - 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was something of a moral leader for California's free-jazz community. In 1959 he established the multimedia 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 and led the ensemble through the 1990s.

Live at I.U.C.C. 4/27/80 (2CD)
**333 copies, one-time pressing**  Volume 11. 2 disc set documenting the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in concert at the Immanuel United Church of Christ - April 27, 1980. This is the eleventh and final concert that Tom Albach recorded at Immanuel United Church of Christ. Easily ranking as one of our favorite performances of the series, its also destined to be considered one of the greatest Arkestra live recordings, brimming with intense energy and culminating in the 1-2 punch of a blazing “Lelan…
Live at IUCC 11/25/79 (2CD)
** 333 copies, one-time pressing ** 2CD SET in gatefold slipcase  2 disc set documenting the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in concert at the Immanuel United Church of Christ - November 25, 1979. This is the eighth in a series of eleven concerts recorded at the church. This month sees the Arkestra stretching out and reaching blissful heights… the 30+ minute long version of “Carnival” is worth the price of admission alone, but the same could be said for the monumental “Nation Rising” or the deep ta…
Live at IUCC 2/25/79 - Series Subscription 2-11 (10 CD Set)
pre-purchase all the next volumes - 3 thru volume 11 (with the exception of vol 6, 1, and 2) of the Arkestra IUCC series… save on shipping and guarantee yourself a complete set! Each volume contains a separate “last Sunday of the month” recording of PAPA @ the IUCC. presented in full as raw transfers of the reels..Releases will be in gatefold wallets with exclusive photos and featuring liner notes by Mark Weber… the entire series comprises roughly 18 hours of recorded material, all volumes in th…
60 Years
Previously unreleased recordings from every decade of the Arkestra’s history, kicking off with a session in Horace Tapscott’s garage in 1961 (involving Linda Hill and Arthur Blythe, amongst others), and running right through to the new generation of young musicians, in a rambunctious closer recorded live in Los Angeles during 2019, featuring Angel Bat Dawid on bass clarinet. Highlights in-between include the surging, militant Nation Rising in 1971 — check Juan ‘Jujigwa’ Gray’s electrifying vocal…
The Quintet
** CD Edition ** This previously unreleased album by the Horace Tapscott Quintet was unearthed from master tapes in the Flying Dutchman archives. Recorded in 1969 and was intended to be a follow-up album to the classic "The Giant Is Awakened" which was released that year.The iconic pianist and composer Horace Tapscott was one of the most unique and important figures in LA’s jazz world. This lost recording was produced by one of the pivotal figures in jazz, Bob Thiele, a leading behind-the-scenes…
Live at IUCC 2/25/79
Volume 2 out of 11. Edition of 333 copies, one-time pressing. This is the last recording with Jesse Sharps as the Bandleader before he left for the Army. An incredible afternoon of music and a fitting “Departure” for a Jesse, a true pillar of the 70’s Arkestra. Macrame was originally released in 1979 on the IUCC 2LP, it is presented here, in a raw transfer of the master reel. Mykowski’s 1st Fifth is nothing but pure fire with those blistering solos by Sharps, Session, and a very special reading …
Live at IUCC 6/24/79
**333 copies, one-time pressing**  Volume 6 out of 11. This is the last recording with Jesse Sharps as the Bandleader before he left for the Army.. An incredible afternoon of music and a fitting “Departure” for a Jesse, a true pillar of the 70’s Arkestra. Macrame was originally released in 1979 on the IUCC 2LP, it is presented here, in a raw transfer of the master reel. Mykowski’s 1st Fifth is nothing but pure fire with those blistering solos by Sharps, Session, and a very special reading by Kam…
Live at I.U.C.C. 11/26/78 (2CD)
A never before issued recording of Horace Tapscott leading his legendary Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, 'Live at I.U.C.C. 11/26/78' documents the entirety of a nearly two-hour performance that rises as one of the most beautiful, striking, and historically important releases of the year. The first in a series of eleven volumes planned by the label for 2023, this 2CD set is limited to 250 copies only and is already sold-out at source. A joyous explosion of sound, seeded by social, political, and co…
Live At Théâtre Du Chêne Noir, Avignon, France 1989
*2022 stock* On October 14th 1989, Horace Tapscott, founder of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, performed alongside his close friend and musical partner Michael Session at the Théâtre du Chêne Noir in Avignon, France. This was during a tour in which they traveled across Europe. The duo presented compositions by Leimert Park musicians Jesse Sharps, Nate Morgan and Tapscott himself. The stark instrumentation of this concert led to minimal arrangements of compositions typically performed by much l…
Legacies For Our Grandchildren - Live In Hollywood, 1995
Previously unpublished live recording, under exclusive license from the Horace Tapscott Family. The first opportunity to listen to Horace’s working quintet from the '90s! Includes a 16-page booklet with liner notes by the original producers of those recordings: Don Snowden and David Keller, photos by Warren Berman and some rare documents.
The Call (Magazine)
The fourth issue of We Jazz Magazine, "The Call" for Horace Tapscott. 128 pages 174 x 250 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Stories include Horace Tapscott by Andy Thomas, Ava Mendoza by Stuart Smith, Tigran Hamasyan by Rui Miguel Abreu, Istanbul Scene by Alper Kaliber, Isaiah Collier by Daniel Spicer, Bill Frisell by Debra Richards, DJ Old Crank by Matti Nives, Tokyo Jazz Joints Vol. 2 by Philip Arneill, reviews…
Live at IUCC
** 2022 repress ** Available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, Outernational Sounds proudly presents a crucial document from the Los Angeles jazz underground - the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra at their most together, stretching out on home turf in 1979, with the legendary Horace Tapscott at the helm. Horace Tapscott is one of the unsung giants of jazz music. A gifted composer and arranger, a boldly original pianist, and above all a visionary bandleader, Tapscott’s recorded footprint is sm…
Flight 17
** 2022 Repress ** Outernational Sounds presents a cornerstone document from the Los Angeles jazz underground, Flight 17 -- the first appearance on record of the legendary Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, led by their founder and mastermind, Horace Tapscott. Available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years. The Arkestra would allow the creativity in the community to come together, would allow people to recognize each other as one people. Horace Tapscott's Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (P.A.P.A.) wa…
The Call
** 20220 ** Available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, Outernational Sounds is proud to present a masterpiece from the Los Angeles jazz underground – Horace Tapscott’s burning, spiritualised 1978 set, The Call. One of the unsung giants of jazz music, the composer, bandleader, arranger, pianist and community activist Horace Tapscott was the undisputed keystone in the grassroots Los Angeles jazz scene. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, his radical community arts and music formations the UGMA…
Tapscott and Winds / Sharps and Flats (2LP in bundle)
Super Tip! This bundle includes the newest Nimbus West archival releases by Horace Tapscott and Jesse Sharps:Horace Tapscott "Tapscott and Winds" (1983, LP)Jesse Sharps "Sharps and Flats" (1986, LP)Horace Tapscott "Tapscott and Winds" (1983, LP)Originally recorded in 1983. A never before released Studio album featuring Horace Tapscott with flautist Aubrey Hart and saxophonist Kafi Roberts. Direct From the 1/4” Master Tapes (All Analog Cut), Tip-On Sleeve Insert with Liner Notes by Mark Weber.Jes…
Tapscott and Winds (LP)
Super Tip! * Originally recorded in 1983. A never before released Studio album featuring Horace Tapscott with flautist Aubrey Hart and saxophonist Kafi Roberts. Direct From the 1/4” Master Tapes (All Analog Cut), Tip-On Sleeve Insert with Liner Notes by Mark Weber *
Live at Lobero Vol 2
This is a reissue of a now out-of-print album from live trio date by the legendary LA-based pianist, composer and multi-bandleader, Horace Tapscott. Pianist Horace Tapscott is always at his best when he is leading a trio. Born in 1934 in Houston, Texas, Horace came from a musical family centered around his mother, Mary Malone Tapscott, who worked professionally as a singer and pianist. When Horace was nine, the family moved to Los Angeles. As a teenager in the late 1940's, Horace was surrounded …
Live at Century City Playhouse 9/9/79
Finally available after long pressing delays, comes a never before issued recording of Horace Tapscott leading his legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, "Live at Century City Playhouse 9/9/79", documenting the entirety of a 2 hours performance that sprawls across glorious 3 LPs. Easily one of the most beautiful, striking, and historically important records of the year, it’s a joyous explosion of sound, seeded by social, political, and community-based action, at the juncture of spiritual and fr…
The Giant Is Awakened
The title of Horace Tapscott's debut release is apt, if not self-referential, for indeed a giant of West Coast jazz had awakened with this, the pianist / composer / bandleader's 1969 album for the Flying Dutchman label. Tapscott went on to form two groups crucial to the flowering of modern jazz in the Los Angeles area, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (or P.A.P.A.; the name is an homage to Tapscott's predecessor and peer, Sun Ra), which eventually became part of a larger umbrella organization, U…
Dial ‘B’ For Barbra
The best of pianist Horace Tapscott's recordings for the tiny Nimbus label is this 1981 LP which features him in a sextet with trumpeter Reggie Bullen, altoist Gary Bias, tenor saxophonist Sabir Matteen, bassist Roberto Miranda and drummer Everett Brown, Jr. The group stretches out on a couple of Tapscott's originals plus a 19½-minute version of Linda Hill's "Dem Folks." Although the music could be called avant-garde, its use of rhythms and repetition keep the results from being forbidding and t…
1 2