Songs of the Unsung

Tapscott Horace Tapscott

Description

Despite his importance and influence, jazz musician, educator, and community leader Horace Tapscott remains relatively unknown to most Americans. In Songs of the Unsung Tapscott shares his life story, recalling his childhood in Houston, moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1943, learning music, and his early professional career. He describes forming the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in 1961 and later the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension to preserve African American music and serve the community. Tapscott also recounts his interactions with the Black Panthers and law enforcement, the Watts riots, his work in Hollywood movie studios, and stories about his famous musician-activist friends. Songs of the Unsung is the captivating story of one of America's most unassuming heroes as well as the story of L.A.'s cultural and political evolution over the last half of the twentieth century.

Sujets

• USA
• 20th century
• États-Unis
• Jazz

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 19 février 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822383185
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Praise forSongs of the Unsung

“This is a splendid book, a wonderfully accessible firstperson narrative by an important and unusual figure in the history of jazz and the history of Black Los Angeles. Tapscott has an important story to tell and he conveys his experiences, opinions, and philosophy clearly through an engaging and conversational style filled with rich descriptions and witty observations.” —George Lipsitz, author ofDangerous Crossroads: Popular Music, Postmodernism, and the Poetics of Place

“[Isoardi] preserves Tapscott’s partpreacher, parthipster patois —in which, for example, he inflects the word ‘out’ to describe free jazz, police brutality, injustice, good luck, violent rage, unexpected generosity, spontaneous affec tion, and insanity.Songs of the Unsungis a witness to hope, one man’s determi nation to create art of lasting value and the power of music to connect people. It is, in the profoundest sense, ‘out’”—Jim Gerard,The Washington Post

“[A] raw, intimate autobiography of L.A. free jazz pianist, trombonist, and composer [Horace] Tapscott. . . . This retrospective will enable jazz enthusi asts to revel in the life of a unique and talented underground musician.” —Publishers Weekly

“Songs of the Unsungoffers a glimpse into the life of a jazz musician who resolved not to abandon the place where he started out —the streets of SouthCentral.” —Jonathan Kirsch,Los Angeles Times

“The details and local lore ofSongsare beautifully rendered, and Tapscott’s modesty and perseverance are qualities to behold.” —Hua Hsu,The Wire

“Offers fascinating insights into Tapscott’s work as a composer and band leader, as well as his memories of L.A. during the turbulent1960s.” —Aaron Cohen,DownBeat

“This engaging reminiscence reveals Tapscott as both a provocative musician and an iconoclastic community advocate. With a nontechnical narrative that flows like a novel, this memoir constitutes an appealing and informative document of musical and social history for readers at all levels.” —A. D. Franklin,Choice

“A valuable firsthand account of American music and culture that will make a welcome addition to any collection.” —Library Journal

“Isoardi has done a fine job of preserving Tapscott’s voice —the narrative is fluent, conversational in tone, and packed with both colourful incident and tart social commentary. . . . As a gripping account of a quietly heroic life and as a rare document about the West Coast’s black cultural underground, Songs of the Unsungis essential reading.” —Graham Lock,Jazzwise

“Page after page, Tapscott off handedly knocks down stereotypes about African American communities, like pines behind an eruption. . . . Tapscott’s controversial narrative, filled with stories about ‘the cats’ and their ‘out’ behavior is fascinating. . . . But more valuable than the book’s entertainment quotient is its map of possibilities.” —Greg Burk,LA Weekly

“Topics such as food drives, grassroots educational activities, and the sharing of resources are all inextricable from the discussion of the Arkestra’s music, which makes this book quite a bit more substantive than the runofthemill jazz bio from a broader cultural standpoint.” —George Drake,Signal to Noise

“Songs of the Unsung. . . sets forth an astonishing, searingly honest view of one segment of music history that is indeed unsung. . . . [The] memoir reminds us with stunning candor that too much has happened under the radar of the jazz industry. . . . We need more books likeSongs of the Unsung, by which we can come to understand creative musicians as agents of change at home, effecting local pockets of activity with universal ramifications. For Tapscott provides us with an unwritten truth behind this radically unfinished music called jazz.” —Vijay Iyer,Current Musicology

“Songs of the Unsungis one of those special autobiographical narratives that comes along once in a while and successfully captivates its reading audience with the complete candor of the person telling the story! This is an import ant sociological document, for it tells the life of Horace Tapscott, one of the most unique figures in the jazz of Black Los Angeles. . . . What is most unique aboutSongs of the Unsungis that it reveals a man who not only lived jazz, but contributed to it in meaningful ways, and was a walking master piece of the personal philosophy he advocated. He lived to teach, help others, perform, create. Horace Tapscott succeeded at each.Songs of the Unsunglets the reader see how he did it.Songs of the Unsungis excellent reading. This book entertains and enlightens at the same time and is a fine reading experience!” —Lee Prosser,Jazzreview.com

“Tapscott stuck pretty much to the straight and narrow and his story is one of music as embedded in community. . . . Tapscott, a thoughtful man and a fine storyteller, has a tale more interesting than the usual fare, and along the way he touches on numerous tales of racism, the merger of the black and white union locals in Los Angeles, reflections on the studio scene and drugs, the various travails of the black community in LA, and many of his musical and educational endeavors over the years, both in and out of the Arkestra. Isoardi’s editing . . . still preserves much of the flavor of some one just sitting back and talking. Anyone interested in the plights of the modern jazz performer, and of course jazz in LA, will find this book of great interest.” —Stuart Kremsky,IAJRC Journal

Songs of the Unsung

The

Musical

and

Social

Journey of

Horace Tapscott

Songs of the Unsung

by Horace Tapscott

EDITED BY STEVEN ISOARDI

DukeUniversityPressDurham&London

© 2001 Duke University Press First published in paperback, 2016 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acidfree paper∞

Designed by C. H. Westmoreland

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Tapscott, Horace. Songs of the Unsung : the musical and social journey of Horace Tapscott / by Horace Tapscott ; edited by Steven Isoardi. p. cm. Includes discographies and indexes. ISBN 9780822325314 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Tapscott, Horace. 2. Pianists—United States— Biography. 3. Jazz musicians—United States—Biography. 4. AfroAmerican musicians—Biography. I. Title: Musical and social journey of Horace Tapscott. II. Isoardi, Steven Louis, 1949– III. Title. M 1417. T 18 A 3 2001 781.65'092— DC 21 [ B ] 00061752

ISBN 9780822362715 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 9780822383185 (ebook)

Cover image based on photograph by Tamar Lando

This book is dedicated to the loves of my life —

Cecilia

Mary Lou, Pearline, Robbie

and the daughters, sons, grands, and great-grands.

A special thanks to my lifelong friend/brother, Wendell.

Never forget from whence we came. Keepthe flame M. D.

Many thanks to those of you who support the music.

Many thanks to ‘‘Dem Folks.’’

—H. T.

Contents

Acknowledgments ix Foreword xi Preface xiii 1Early Years in Houston 2California  3Setting the Pace  4Central Avenue  5Military Service  6On the Road with Lionel Hampton 7To Preserve and DevelopBlack Culture  8The Fire This Time  9In the Middle of It  10Stayin’ Alive 11The Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension 12Settling into the Community  13Movements to the Present 14Reflections and Directions Postscript: From the Funeral Service  Appendix: A Partial List ofArtists, – Discography : Horace Tapscott  Discography : Music from the Ark  Index 