Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - Live At Widney High December 26th, 1971 (2025) (Hi-Res)

On a Sunday in the early 70s in South LA one could easily find themselves experiencing the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra doing what they do for the community, performing incredible music. ‘Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971’ is a previously unreleased PAPA recording. It finds director Horace Tapscott conducting the band at Widney Career Preparatory & Transition Center, a special-education magnet high school in Los Angeles. The band played shows here between 1970 and '72, often sharing the bill with contemporaries John Carter and Bobby Bradford’s group, and at one point the Sun-Ra Arkestra. These weekend shows were free and meant for the surrounding Black community. On this date the PAPA performed a range of compositions from the Ark's expansive songbook, including arrangements of tunes by Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane.

The albums first single, Tapscott's arrangement of Coltrane's "Equinox", is one of many Coltrane compositions the Arkestra performed, as the most forward thinking Jazz player of the time was a consistent inspiration for the Ark. It's second single, "The Creator Has A Master Plan" demonstrates Tapscott's simplicity along with the band's fiery pace and feeling. The track list is completed by traditional spiritual "Motherless Child", and a medley of two compositions by Herbert Baker, one of the Arkestra's young pianists who passed in a car accident at age 17; "Little A's Chant" (which some might recall from our previous “60 Years” release), with lyrics written and sang by Linda Hill, and the hypnotic "Flight 17".

Al Collins - Tenor Sax
Lawrence Douglas (Butch) Morris - Trumpet
Walter Graham - Trumpet
Lorenzo Gardman - Trombone
Lester Robertson - Trombone
Richard Herrera - Bass
David Bryant - Bass
Ernest Cojoe - Congas
Everett Brown Jr - Drums
Kamau Daáood - Word Musician
Linda Hill - Vocals

Tracklist
1. Equinox (25:03)
2. Motherless Child (22:40)
3. The Creator Has a Master Plan (13:22)
4. Herbert Baker Medley (23:05)
5. Horace Spoken Outro (3:41)