Piano, Composer, Community Activist (1934-1999)

Born Horace Elva Tapscott on 6 April 1934 in Houston, Texas, Horace Tapscott was an American jazz pianist, composer, and community activist.

In 1961, Tapscott formed Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (PAPA/The Ark) to preserve and develop African-American music, expanding to Underground Musicians Association (UGMA) in 1963, later Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). Members included Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, David Murray, and Jimmy Woods. His first album The Giant Is Awakened (1969, Flying Dutchman) was Blythe's recording debut. Blacklisted from music industry in early 1970s for outspoken politics, he gigged at parks and churches whilst reorganising Arkestra around 1977. He recorded for Interplay and Nimbus (1978-mid 1980s), hat ART (The Dark Tree, 1989), and Arabesque (1990s). Tapscott died 27 February 1999 aged 64.