Horace Tapscott

Recorded on February 26, 1980 at United-Western Studios in Hollywood, Dial B For Barbra stands as one of the absolute peaks of Horace Tapscott's output for Nimbus West. Following his monumental orchestral sessions with the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, Tapscott here condenses his vision into a sextet of extraordinary cohesion, achieving with just six musicians the same sonic vastness of his larger ensembles.

The album opens with "Lately's Solo," where Tapscott weaves Miles Davis's "Milestones" theme into the compositional fabric with disarming naturalness - a gesture revealing how deeply classic jazz roots nourished his avant-garde explorations. Gary Bias on alto and soprano saxophone, future member of Earth, Wind & Fire and Grammy winner for co-writing Anita Baker's "Sweet Love," dialogues with Sabir Mateen on tenor, the Philadelphia-born reedman who would carry this experience toward legendary collaborations with Cecil Taylor, William Parker, and Sunny Murray. Reggie Bullen on flugelhorn, Roberto Miranda on bass, and Everett Brown Jr. on drums complete a lineup where every shift feels telepathic, every soloist given space to explore while maintaining absolute cohesion.

The title track distills Tapscott's lyrical essence, while Linda Hill's monumental "Dem Folks" - nearly twenty minutes of pure transcendence - demonstrates how rhythm and repetition can transform the avant-garde into something irresistible. As Scott Yanow wrote, although the music could be called avant-garde, "its use of rhythms and repetition keep the results from being forbidding and the performances have a momentum of their own."

An album that balances groove, improvisation, and deep compositional integrity. Essential Tapscott.