Steven L. Isoardi, Interviewer, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., M.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Ph.D., Political Science, UCLA.
Place: Tapscott's home, Los Angeles.
Dates, length of sessions: May 1, 1993 (137 minutes);
May 15, 1993 (126); May 29, 1993 (146); June 12, 1993 (117); June 19, 1993
(117); July 17, 1993 (115).
Total number of recorded hours: 12.6
Persons present during interview: Tapscott and
Isoardi.
This interview is one in a series designed to preserve the spoken memories of individuals, primarily musicians, who were raised near and/or performed on Los Angeles's Central Avenue, especially from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s. Musician and teacher William Green, his student Steven Isoardi, and early project interviewee Buddy Collette provided major inspiration for the UCLA Oral History Program's inaugurating the Central Avenue Sounds Oral History Project.
In preparing for the interview, Isoardi consulted jazz histories, autobiographies, oral histories, relevant jazz periodicals, documentary films, and back issues of the
This interview is organized chronologically, beginning with Tapscott's childhood in Houston, Texas, and his family's move to Watts and continuing through his military service and professional career. Major topics discussed include Tapscott's musical training, the Central Avenue musical scene, and the formation and history of the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension and the Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra.
Alex Cline, editor, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names. Whenever possible, the proper names of the nightclubs were checked against articles and advertisements in back issues of the
Tapscott reviewed the transcript. He verified proper names and made minor corrections and additions.
Susan E. Douglass, editor, prepared the table of contents and interview history. Cline assembled the biographical summary. Peter Limbrick, editorial assistant, compiled the index.
The original tape recordings of the interview are in the university archives and are available under the regulations governing the use of permanent noncurrent records of the university. Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Oral History Program.