The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles, Includes CD. (George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies) [Hardcover]

Steve Isoardi (Author), Roberto Miranda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2006 | Series: George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies

While he was still in his twenties, Horace Tapscott gave up a successful career in Lionel Hampton's band and returned to his home in Los Angeles to found the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, a community arts group that focused on providing affordable, community-oriented jazz and jazz training. Over the course of almost forty years, the Arkestra, together with the related Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA) Foundation, were at the forefront of the vital community-based arts movements in black Los Angeles. Some three hundred artists--musicians, vocalists, poets, playwrights, painters, sculptors, and graphic artists--passed through these organizations, many ultimately remaining within the community and others moving on to achieve international fame. Based primarily on one hundred in-depth interviews with current and former participants, The Dark Tree is the first history of the important and largely overlooked community arts movement of African American Los Angeles. Brought to life by the passionate voices of the men and women who worked to make the arts integral to everyday community life, this engrossing book completes the account began in the highly acclaimed Central Avenue Sounds, which documented the secular music history of the first half of the twentieth century and which the San Francisco Examiner called "one of the best jazz books ever compiled."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Instead of taking a coveted opportunity to join Lionel Hampton's band, Horace Tapscott chose to stay in L.A and develop a music and arts legacy that has lasted 40 years, outliving Tapscott himself. Isoardi, music teacher, author, and editor, provides an absorbing look at the Pan African Peoples Arkestra, a community arts group that encouraged and supported more than 300 musicians, vocalists, playwrights, painters, poets, and other artists, some who went on to famous careers. Isoardi examines the Ark in the broader context of African culture, noting the ties between rap, "the dozens," and verbal contests in various traditional West African rituals. He explores the use of art among some African nations to impose order and similar use of the Ark in L.A. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of participants at the Ark, as well as Tapscott's archival material, Isoardi presents a lively and energetic look at an enormous community and artistic resource. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Epic in scope, dazzling in detail and sensual as any Coltrane solo, this rare book - informative, intimate, lyrical, scholarly, nuanced, and essential - reads like no history book you've read before." - Chris Abani, author of GraceLand and Becoming Abigail"

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (April 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520245911
• ISBN-13: 978-0520245914
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,101,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jazz Review, May 15, 2007

By 

N. B. Cole "music aficionado" (CA , USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles, Includes CD. (George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies) (Hardcover)

Interesting, informative, & provocative reading. Facts galore; should be on every jazz enthusiastic's display bookshelf. I will not loan it to anyone for fear of it not being returned.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dark Tree Flowers, October 5, 2007

By 

Soleil - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles, Includes CD. (George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies) (Hardcover)

Isoardi's book provides an insightful examination of L.A.'s vibrant African American art's community under the communal aspirations of the Union of God's Musicians and Artists (UGMAA). Most important is Isoardi's understanding of Black music and the chrismatic leadership of the legendary Horace Tapscott. This book provides a great overview of L.A.'s Black cultural history and how art played a profound influence in creating a cohesive community of cultural workers who were concerned with maintaining the tradition of African- American explorative practices, but by also passing these practices on to subsequent generations. There is a CD included with this book that gives readers the oportunity to hear a modest sampling of what emerged. This is an important book and a history we must not forget.