Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - Live At Widney High, December 26th 1971 2xLP

Label: The Village

On a Sunday in the early ’70s in South Los Angeles, it was common to find the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra performing for the community. Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971 is a previously unreleased recording capturing director Horace Tapscott leading the ensemble at Widney Career Preparatory and Transition Center, a special-education magnet high school in Los Angeles. Between 1970 and 1972, the Arkestra regularly played free weekend shows here for the surrounding Black community, often sharing bills with John Carter, Bobby Bradford’s group, and at one point the Sun Ra Arkestra.

The performance draws from the Ark’s expansive songbook, including arrangements of compositions by Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane. Tapscott’s arrangement of Coltrane’s “Equinox” stands as a centerpiece, reflecting Coltrane’s lasting influence on the Arkestra. “The Creator Has A Master Plan” highlights Tapscott’s gift for simplicity paired with the band’s fiery momentum. The program concludes with the spiritual “Motherless Child” and a medley of two compositions by Herbert Baker, a young Arkestra pianist who tragically passed at age 17: “Little A’s Chant,” with lyrics written and sung by Linda Hill, and the hypnotic “Flight 17.”