60 Years

In 1961, a giant awoke in South Central Los Angeles: a musically radical, deep-rooted, politically engaged band,  its members drawn from the community it represented and served, and its music composed by them alone – The  Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. The brainchild of pianist and composer Horace Tapscott, the Arkestra was intended  to preserve Black music, nurture Black musicians, and above all contribute positively to community building in South Central LA. 

60 Years celebrates six decades of his radical and uplifting musical and social vision. Digging deep into the  Arkestra’s archives, the album gathers breath-taking unreleased material, including previously unheard  compositions, from every stage of the band’s development – from Tapscott’s earliest iterations of the group,  recording at home in 1961, to the current incarnation of the band, led by the new generation of young musicians. Tapscott passed on in 1999, but the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra was built to outlast him: over more than half a  century it has stayed true to its roots and to Tapscott’s vision, welcoming multiple generations of players into its fold, and celebrating their music. And with current leader Mekala Session – son of the Arkestra’s veteran altoist Michael Session – at the helm, the Ark is still going strong. 60 Yearsselects a song from every decade of its life, show-casing a musical family tree that includes renowned musicians such as Arthur Blythe, Dwight Trible, Phil Ranelin, Butch Morris, Kamau Daáood, Sonjia Maia Harper, Nate Morgan, Linda Hill, Adele Sebastian, Michael Session, Jesse Sharps and of course the late, great Horace Tapscott himself.  

Remastered from archival sources by the Arkestra’s longstanding engineer Wayne Peet, 60 Years is presented by The Village – a label operated by members of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. With archival photographs documenting the Arkestra’s history, the album arrives with liner notes featuring track-by-track commentary from Arkestra members past and present. In the words of Mekala Session, ‘This release is the culmination of 60 years of Black history through sound’. South Central’s musical colossus is still very much awake, and 60 Years reveals the secrets of the Ark. 

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