HORACE TAPSCOTT / EVERETT BROWN JR. – At The Crossroads (LP-1980)

Label: Nimbus West Records – NS 579

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1980

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California, 1980.

Engineer – Ed Perry

Producer – Tom Albach

Catalog ID: NS 579 / Our ID: 62263

A1 - At The Crossroads ......................................................................... 8:59

A2 - Middle Age Madness ..................................................................... 9:05

B1 - Ballad For Window Lee Black ...................................................... 11:59

B2 - Marcellus III .................................................................................... 8:48

Artist:

Horace Tapscott – piano

Everett Brown Jr. – drums, percussion

...Between the late 1950s and early 1970s Tapscott recorded with Lou Blackburn (1963) and Onzy Matthews (1963, accompanying Lou Rawls), arranged and conducted the music for two albums for the singer (and, later, Black Panther Party leader) Elaine Brown, and composed and conducted the material for Sonny Criss's album Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool) (1968, Prst. 7576); his first album as a leader was made one year later. From 1978 through the mid-1980s he recorded for Interplay and Nimbus, two labels formed by enthusiasts for Tapscott's music. He recorded with the Arkestra, as an unaccompanied soloist, in a duo with the drummer Everett Brown, with his trio (notably a session in performance at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California), and as the leader of a sextet...

Horace Tapscott, piano; Everett Brown Jr, drums |United-Western Studios, Hollywood, California | April 29 and May 3, 1980 | Photo by Mark Weber

For this fairly rare Lp, pianist Horace Tapscott and drummer Everett Brown Jr. play four fairly free duets. Because Tapscott has always had very impressive technique and a melodic style, the encounters hold one's interest throughout and build up logically. Tapscott's very original style is always fascinating to hear and this adventurous set is one of his better dates.


Note:

The Tapscott Archive includes both sound recordings and musical manuscripts documenting the life and work of Horace Tapscott, and the music of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (P.A.P.A.) and the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). The recordings include radio interviews, airchecks, concert tours, rehearsals, club dats, studio recording sessions, and performances at educational and other locations with PAPA, UGMAA and Tapscott's various small jazz groups. The music collection includes original compositions and arrangements by Tapscott, and arrangements for other composers. Note: The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (P.A.P.A.) is also referred to as "The ARK;" to find these materials use: "Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra."

See also:

http://markweber.free-jazz.net/2012/04/13/billie-harris-quintet-sessions-i-want-some-water/

If you find it, buy this album!