Pure Pleasure continues its reissue programme of the music of Horace Tapscott, making it clear to all who have ears to hear, that the late lynchpin of the independent West Coast scene excelled as a composer as well as an educator.

As with many a skilled big band leader, Tapscott is still able to generate notable orchestral colour when he has a smaller group and his sextet is both potent and dynamic. The leader's songs have a marked sense of history, above all on a piece such as ‘Lately's Solo’, where the pianist craftily quotes Miles Davis’ ‘Milestones’ in the midst of truly torrid swing while the horns embark upon on a series of firecracker solos.

Alto saxophonist Gary Bias emerges with real marks of distinction throughout, as his flinty, hard-edged sound motors along with all the drive of a player who can produce a steady stream of ideas and sustain high energy for long stretches.

Perhaps most pleasingly of all, what was originally a single album is now repackaged as a double, complete with the kind of crisp re-mastering [by Kevin Gray] that makes every sound jump to life. All of the detail in Tapscott's approach to the keyboard, from his post-Monk nonchalance to his percolating rhythmic attack, can be appreciated that much more. His original compositions, such as the title track, are excellent and a reprise of flautist Linda Hill's ‘Dem Folks’ is also outstanding. As a musical giant and activist who was largely unrecognised in his lifetime there is every reason to celebrate Tapscott's discography, and this is a new piece of a career puzzle that cannot be completed quickly enough.