"Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 Ð February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (also known as P.A.P.A., or The Ark) in 1961 and led the ensemble through the 1990s.

Tapscott was born in Houston, Texas, and moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of nine. By this time he had begun to study piano and trombone. He played with Frank Morgan, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins as a teenager.

After service in the Air Force in Wyoming, he returned to Los Angeles and played trombone with various bands, notably Lionel Hampton (1959Ð61). Soon after, though, he quit playing trombone and focused on piano.

In 1961 Tapscott formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, with the aim of preserving, developing and performing African-American music. As his vision grew, this became just one part of a larger organization in 1963, the Underground Musicians Association (UGMA), which later changed name to the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, Butch Morris, Wilber Morris, David Murray, Jimmy Woods, Nate Morgan and Guido Sinclair all performed in Tapscott's Arkestra at one time or another. Tapscott and his work are the subjects of the UCLA Horace Tapscott Jazz Collection.

Enthusiasts of his music formed two labels in the 1970s and 1980s, Interplay and Nimbus, for which he recorded."

Michael Session is a jazz saxophonist, known for the groups Horace Tapscott Quintet, The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, A Touch Of Jazz, Brüning V. Alten's Sunrise Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez New Dallasangeles, Jazz Workshop Ensemble, Silvan Koopmann Bigband, and The Gathering.

"Dwight Trible is an American jazz singer, living in Los Angeles. He has made albums in collaboration with Carlos Gabriel Niño, John Beasley, and Matthew Halsall, releasing them on Ninja Tune and Gondwana Records. He was an original member of Pure Essence.

Mike Hobart, wrote in the Financial Times that "Trible has been forging his particular slant on spiritual-modal jazz for decades, delivering his love-is-the-answer message with clear diction, rich tones and a beautifully controlled vibrato. Trible's sonic range adds a dash of Isaac Hayes gravel to the imperious sonorities of Barry White, and, like them, he steeps his voice in the inflections of gospel-soul and the blues. But, having worked with the likes of Pharaoh Sanders and Charles Lloyd, he is equally in control of the nuances and demands of jazz."

Andrew Gilbert wrote in JazzTimes that "few musicians have done more to cultivate the L.A. [jazz] scene over the past four decades" than Trible. "

"Tina Hitchens is a improviser, flautist and composer / sound artist who works largely in the fields of free improvisation, sound art, and contemporary classical music, playing and writing in a variety of musical groups as well as working with artists from other disciplines.

Recent projects include as a recipient of an 'Interpreting Isolation' grant from the British Music Collection and Sound & Music: Tina collaborated with artist Sam Francis to produce a new work, High Tide. In 2019-21 she was a commissioned artist for CANOPY, an arts network in the Forest of Dean, working towards creating a sound art piece focusing on a Phone Box using sounds and stories from the Forest area. Tina was composer for Freya Gabie's Grafted Chorus - a project for the 'Future Perfect' public arts programme; a Halftone collaboration with artist Benjamin A Owen at Supernormal Festival; and Amalgams, produced by the ONOMATO collective. She was a composer / improviser for artist Benjamin A Owen's Goldfinch film events, collaborated with Field Sports / Fold Music, was a flautist for Song 5 of Welsh National Opera's Occupation - Five songs that shook the world, and performed orchestral piccolo for the world premiere of Andrew Wilson-Dickson's Karuna - an oratorio for compassion.

Tina currently writes / improvises / performs in a range of settings - see the Projects / Groups page for details.

Tina has worked with the Welsh National Opera, National Dance Company Wales, PM Music Ensemble, National Theatre Wales, The Sherman Theatre, and multiple smaller groups. She co-founded Cardiff New Music Collective, a group dedicated to performing rarely-heard repertoire, as well as commissioning new works. Tina was a composer / performer for Dots.filmband, who composed and improvised live soundscapes for contemporary short films, and composed, played synth and sang with Whitebelt, a post-punk / wonky pop 3-piece. She has been a session musician for various pop / TV / radio / film / theatre / dance projects.

Tina initially studied classical flute performance (with Roger Armstrong and Christine Messiter) at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she was fortunate to attend Keith Tippett's educational sessions on free improvisation. These sessions contributed to the broadening of Tina's musical world and she became increasingly involved in contemporary music during her time at the College, gaining the MMus and BMus (hons) degrees. She was awarded an EMI Music Sound Foundation scholarship, an Ashley Family Foundation scholarship, and the Daniel Emlyn Davies Award."