Despite his importance and influence, jazz musician, educator, and community leader Horace Tapscott remains relatively unknown to most Americans. InSongs of the Unsung Tapscott shares
his life story, recalling his childhood in Houston, moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1943, learning music, and his early professional career. He describes forming the Pan Afrikan
Peoples Arkestra in 1961 and later the Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension to preserve African-American music and serve the community. Tapscott also recounts his interactions with
the Black Panthers and law enforcement, the Watts riots, his work in Hollywood movie studios, and stories about his famous musician-activist friends. Songs of the Unsung is the
captivating story of one of America’s most unassuming heroes as well as the story of L.A.’s cultural and political evolution over the last half of the twentieth century.
