***1/2 Horace Tapscott

THOUGHTS OF DAR ES SALAAM

(Arabesque)

Pianist Horace Tapscott has spent a lifetime playing jazz in LA, where he's mentored many musicians who have gone on to widespread fame -- including saxophonist Arthur Blythe. But the same recognition has eluded Tapscott. One can only hope that this album, his second for Arabesque, will make it clear that, famous or not, he's one of the most accomplished pianists and composers in jazz.

He's especially adept at blending the tonal and melodic liberties of free jazz with the swing rhythms and song forms of hard bop. On "Bibi Mkuu: The Great Black Lady" and "Social Call," an overlooked gem by bop saxophonist Gigi Gryce, his most adventurous passages are grounded by bass vamps and post-bop drumming. He can also take an affectionate, funky original like "Willetta's Walk," or Sonny Rollins's classic "Oleo," to extremes where more conservative players would never dare go.

Bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Billy Hart are perfectly in synch with Tapscott's approach, supporting each of his excursions to the post-bop frontier. If you think there's nothing new to be done with music in the bop tradition, check out the populist avant-garde of pianist Horace Tapscott.

-- Ed Hazell