Featuring: Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, piano
Release date - 15th February, 2023 // SHIPPING FEE OUTSIDE EUROPE IS DIFFERENT
Recorded June 3, 1971
The Jazz Workshop, Boston, MA
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Recorded November 7, 1977 Jazztage Berliner 1977, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
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Recorded January 12, 1978 Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA
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Recorded May 15, 1979 Hamburg, Germany
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Recorded May 17, 1981 Florence, Italy
SIDE J
IMPROVISATION III (18:25)
NIGHTFALL (previously unreleased) (4:40)
Recorded March 9, 2002 Freeport-McMoRan Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
Robert Iannapollo - New York City Jazz Record
It’s hard to believe that multi-instrumentalist/ composer/arranger Sam Rivers died over a decade ago, the day after Christmas 2011. It seems like another time. His passing was a great loss, but his memory has been kept alive, not only through the music he recorded and released, but also through his social impact. In the ‘70s and beyond, he was one of the prime movers of jazz. He started the performance space Studio RivBea in 1972 with his wife Beatrice (the “Bea” in RivBea); it was a prime spot during the Jazz Loft Era and regularly featured the more creative styles of jazz. The venue ran for approximately eight years, and when it closed, Rivers kept active, even spending time as a reed player in Dizzy Gillespie’s late ‘80s small groups. But Rivers also rigorously documented his own music from the early ’70s on. Earlier, he had recorded for various labels, most notably Blue Note (four albums for the label as a leader, as well as several major appearances as a sideman), but Rivers was relentless post-1970, and left behind a seemingly bottomless trove of recordings that were never released. Music researcher/discographer Rick Lopez and jazz writer/documentarian Ed Hazell were allowed access to these recordings by Monique Rivers Williams, Rivers’ daughter and executor of her father’s estate. The Lithuanian NoBusiness record label has been releasing a series of recordings drawing on these archives—six of them to date, which only scratches the surface of the trove. The boxed set under review here is a limited edition (300 copies!) 5-LP condensation of the aforementioned discs, plus a couple of previously unreleased tracks. The discs are stored in a sturdy box and come with a handsome 24-page LP-sized book featuring several essays and beautiful photographs. If anyone can tell me the current whereabouts of the life-size cutout of Rivers that stood in front of a record store in Nancy, France, in 1977— captured for posterity in one of the photos featured in this release—I’d appreciate it! All in all, this set presents a fine document of the arc of Rivers’ music and how he honed his approach over time. Two LPs focus on Rivers’ trio concept of the early/mid ‘70s. The first LP features one of his earliest trios, with Cecil McBee (bass) and Norman Connors (drums), while the fourth is the trio with Dave Holland (bass) and Barry Altschul (drums), probably the bestknown of these groups due to its relentless touring and longevity (lasting until 1978). It was in 1976 that Rivers started adding the tuba of Joe Daley to his small groups. Daley had worked in Rivers’ larger ensembles and was clearly in sync with Rivers no matter the format. This set features two different tuba ensembles, and each benefits greatly from Daley’s agile sparring with the leader. The second LP features a quintet with the tubist plus Holland, Altschul and second drummer, Charli Persip. Perhaps the most interesting sequence during the performance occurs during the latter part of “Universal Message Part 2” when Rivers switches to piano. After a furious interlude, Rivers slows down, Holland slips into an ostinato figure and Daley enters with a series of arcing lines; his solo eventually winds down to a series of melodic phrases that takes the sequence to its satisfying conclusion. The third LP is excerpted from the Hamburg session, released as Braids with Daley, Holland and Thurman Barker (drums). Best of all is “Blossoms”, a side-long outtake from the original date. Rivers focuses on soprano, which makes for a striking contrast with Daley’s tuba. It’s a very unusual track and well worth the unearthing. After a period in the ‘80s where Rivers found it difficult to keep groups together for long, he and Bea relocated (in 1991) to Orlando, FL. That move started a productive period that continued for the rest of his life, perhaps the most consistently productive of Rivers’ career, represented by the final side of this set with a recording from March 2002. It includes an 18- plus minute trio improvisation, as well as a previously unreleased selection with his final working trio of multi-instrumentalists Doug Matthews (acoustic and electric bass, bass clarinet) and Anthony Cole (drums, piano, tenor). If one owns all six CDs, perhaps this release isn’t necessary. But with this special set, you get to listen to it all on fresh vinyl and with 25-plus minutes of previously unavailable Sam Rivers music in bonus cuts!
