Horace Tapscott’s seminal recording The Giant is Awakened was cause for celebration when it was first produced in 1969 by Bob Thiele and released on the Flying Dutchman imprint.

First of all, like all modern masters, the pianist shows his deep sense of history. He belongs to the finest tradition not only of pianists but also of musicians who held fast to unbridled excellence. “Fats” Waller—the genius he celebrates in his own composition entitled “Fats”—runs through his veins and spills out onto the keyboard. And like that other genius, Mr. Tapscott wastes no time on useless virtuosity. Each note is heartfelt, but is also precisely where it should be.

This makes for the lean and sinewy manner in which his phrasing and also his lines excite the listener. His stories are also vivid: They can be ominous as in “The Giant is Awakened” and “The Dark Tree” and they can also be fantastic as they unfolded in a vivid, yet dreamlike manner, as in “Niger’s Theme”.