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This interview was made possible in part by the generous support of Lucille Ostrow.
Growing up in Houston, Texas--Dorie Miller--More on growing up in Houston--Early memory in which a white man puts a gun to Tapscott's mother's head--Stepfather, Leon Jackson--Tapscott's early musical training--Roles of African American men and women in the thirties and forties--Riding the bus in segregated Houston--The church as a center of musical and cultural awareness in the African American community.
Tapscott's sister, Robbie Tapscott Byrd--Tapscott learns to play the trombone--The African American community in Houston in the thirties--Tapscott's uncle, Willie Malone--Tapscott's family moves to Los Angeles during World War II--Learning musical technique from musicians on Central Avenue--First home in Los Angeles--Clubs and musicians in the Central Avenue neighborhood.
Meets wife, Cecilia Payne Tapscott--Plays in Lafayette Junior High School band--Junior high school band performs with professional musicians--Leaves Lionel Hampton's band in order to stay in Los Angeles--Lives on aunt and uncle's farm in Fresno, California--Attends racially mixed school--More on living with aunt and uncle--More on reasons for leaving Hampton's band--Lafayette Junior High School--Competing on the track team at Jefferson High School.
Jefferson High School--Jobs that were closed to African Americans in the forties and fifties--Develops fear of traveling on airplanes--Classes at Jefferson High School.
Plays in Jefferson High School band led by Samuel Browne--Meeting professional musicians--Former high school students return to the Central Avenue neighborhood and perform with young musicians--Musicians and drug use--The closeness among jazz musicians in the forties, fifties, and sixties--Tapscott's approach to raising children--Racism in American society.
The impact of segregation on the African American community in the fifties--Samuel Browne--Performing during high school years--Joins the United States Air Force--Is assigned to Fort Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming--Confronts sergeant's racist attitude--Anxieties about interracial relationships prompt the air force to bring African American women to the base.
Travels in Montana in the 1950s--Performs with the group the Nu-tones in segregated Las Vegas--Reaction of people in Wyoming to seeing African Americans for the first time--Racial conflict at air force social events--Friends Tapscott met in the air force--Changes in jazz music during the 1950s--More on racism in American society--The racism Tapscott experienced in the service--Raising children in a racist society.
Early musical influences--Reasons for Central Avenue's decline.
How the amalgamation of Locals 47 and 767 of the American Federation of Musicians affected African American musicians--Tapscott works as a studio musician--More on the effects of the amalgamation--Takes music courses at Los Angeles City College in 1952--Instructor's lack of respect for jazz leads Tapscott to quit college--Challenges Local 47 to support performances in black communities--Plays piano for the Supremes--Exploitation of studio musicians--Desire to affirm African American music.
The Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra is organized in 1961--The Arkestra gains acceptance in the African American community--Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of Arkestra members during the sixties--Confrontations with the police rise as political activism increases among blacks--The Arkestra's performances in the community--Reverend Edgar Edwards of the Immanuel United Church of Christ and his support of the Arkestra--The Arkestra's contributions--Changes in the African American community over time--The current generation of young African American males.
Inadequate funding for African American schools--More on reasons for leaving Lionel Hampton's band--Reasons for current political apathy among young people--Police harassment of African Americans--The Watts riots--How working and living in the community sets a positive example for young people--Plans to close the California Afro-American Museum--Plans to close a local public library--Competition among minority groups today.
Begins playing the piano--Composing music--Tapscott's frustration with the process of applying for grants--Musicians in the Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra--Family members who play musical instruments.
The beginnings of the Arkestra--Tapscott's ideas about how music should be presented to people--The role of spirituals and blues in the African American community--The Arkestra combines various forms of African American music--Early participants in the Arkestra--More on the beginnings of the Arkestra--The Arkestra's weekend performances at South Park in Watts--The Watts Happening Coffee House--Sense of satisfaction from contributing to the community-People respond positively to the Arkestra.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents try to infiltrate the Arkestra--The FBI's campaign against African American political organizations and activists--The high death rate of young African American males--Importance of communicating with the younger generation--Female members of the Arkestra and the Underground Musicians Association (UGMA)--Conflicts within the Arkestra--UGMA activities--More on Reverend Edgar Edwards's support of UGMA--Tapscott ghostwrites music to earn money--The Arkestra's political purpose.
More on the Watts riots--FBI harassment of Arkestra members--The rise of black nationalism during the sixties--Tapscott's vision of what a better community would be--More on composing music--Tapscott's album The Giant Is Awakened-Playing with Bobby Bradford and John Carter--Sun Ra.
UGMA produces Three Brothers--UGMA gains acceptance in the Los Angeles African American community--Reasons for renaming UGMA the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA)--Through speakers and art programs, UGMA and the Arkestra educate blacks about their heritage--The influence of African music on the Arkestra--More on educating blacks about their heritage.
Tapscott has difficulty finding work because of his connection to UGMA--The Arkestra performs for political events--Elaine Brown--Discrimination based on skin color within the African American community--More on changes in the African American community--Importance of becoming involved in one's community--Recruiting people to the Arkestra and UGMA--More on the Arkestra's contributions--UGMA runs a print shop.
Earns a living playing with various bands in the fifties and early sixties--Steady gig at the Troubadour--More on police harassment--Making ends meet during the fifties and sixties--Receives job offer to lead an all-white choir and orchestra--Gains national and world-wide recognition--The Arkestra attracts a varied audience--Recording opportunities--Seeking friendly, noncompetitive interactions with other musicians.
More on UGMA's print shop--UGMA provides music classes for young people--Staging multimedia performances that deal with racial issues--More on the Arkestra's contributions--Plans to use music as therapy for the sick and elderly--The Arkestra is asked to perform at the first PanAfrican Festival in Africa--The Arkestra works with children in the schools--Members' commitment to the Arkestra--The Arkestra becomes a focal point in bringing the community together.
UGMA moves from the print shop--Members of the Arkestra leave for New York and other places in the mid-seventies--The membership of the Arkestra today--Tapscott's composition "Ancestral Echoes"--Plans to lead a band in the 1993 Kwanza parade--UGMA programs in the seventies--The Arkestra performs at prisons--Musicians who have been in prison--The Arkestra's influence on young people over the years--Rumor that a white Aryan group is coming into the Los Angeles African American community--Positive aspects of racially diverse communities--Equal treatment for African Americans--More on the current generation of young African American males.
Problems in the relationship between schools and parents--More on the current generation of young African American males--Racism and other social problems--Tapscott's own contribution to his community--The legacy of Central Avenue.