Those who knew and loved Horace Elva Tapscott, the late jazz bandleader, composer and social activist from Leimert Park, invariably refer to him as “the phantom” or “the ghost.” Even when he was forthcoming, his timing was mysterious. “After he had his seizure, I remember him sitting in his room composing,” recalls music historian and Tapscott biographer Steven Isoardi. “He had his score in front of him, and he just casually looked up and said, ‘By the way, I’m gonna die soon.’ I was just stunned, I didn’t know what to say. But that... More >>>