Horace Tapscott

Recorded on October 10, 1979 at the legendary Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, this unearthed treasure captures Horace Tapscott in the very temple of West Coast jazz, the club where Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Lee Morgan, and Elvin Jones had left their mark in previous decades. Under Rudy Onderwyzer's management, the Lighthouse continued hosting music of the highest caliber, and this evening stands as irrefutable testimony.

The sextet reunites some of Tapscott's most trusted collaborators: Reggie Bullen on trumpet, Gary Bias on alto sax, the double rhythm section of Roberto Miranda and David Bryant on basses, and George Goldsmith on drums. The tracks are extended, meditative, often introduced by long pianistic reflections before the group joins in collective crescendo.

"Acirfa" - Africa spelled backwards - opens and closes the album in two versions of different lengths, framing a repertoire spanning UGMAA universe compositions and reinvented standards. Linda Hill's "Dem Folks," nearly nineteen minutes of pure rhythmic ecstasy, demonstrates once again why this composition had become a pillar of the Arkestra's repertoire. But "Leland's Song" is the moment of absolute grace - a piece that many listeners consider worth the entire album alone.

The surprise is "I Remember Clifford," Benny Golson's classic in memory of Clifford Brown, which Tapscott approaches with unexpected delicacy, showing how traditional jazz roots always nourished his most radical vision.

A mad genius at work, in one of the most important clubs in jazz history.