More Sam Rivers

Following "The Quest", here's some more Sam Rivers, partly from records, partly from unreleased concert recordings. Three sets up this time, which have one thing in common - they're all trios (as was "The Quest"). It seems that Rivers often worked in the trio format, though his older Blue Note records employed larger groups and he did also work on and off with even larger constellations.

The first one up is "Hues", a series of different trios recorded over a period of several years.

The basic facts:

Sam Rivers - Hues

Impulse IMPL 8007, (ASD 9302)

01 - Amber
02 - Turquoise
03 - Rose
04 - Chartreuse
05 - Mauve
06 - Indigo
07+08 - Onyx+Topaz
09 - Ivory Black
10 - Violet

Tracks 7 & 8 run into each other.

Sessions:

A. - tracks 1, 2, 3 - Recorded in performance at The Jazz Workshop, Boston, 13 Feb 1971.

Sam Rivers - tenor sax, flute
Cecil McBee - bass
Norman Connors - drums & percussion

B. - track 4 - Recorded in performance at The Jazz Workshop, Boston, 14 Feb 1971.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax
Cecil McBee - bass
Norman Connors - drums & percussion

C. - tracks 5, 6 - Recorded in performance at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, 27 Oct 1972.

Sam Rivers - tenor sax
Richard Davis - bass
Warren Smith - drums & percussion

D. - tracks 7, 8 - Recorded in performance at Molde Jazz Festival, Norway, 3 Aug 1973.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax, flute
Avild Andersen - bass
Barry Altschul - drums & percussion

E. - tracks 9, 10 - Recorded in performance at Battel Chapel, Yale University, US, 10 Nov 1973.

Sam Rivers - soprano sax, flute
Cecil McBee - bass
Barry Altschul - drums & percussion

My basic criticism of this record is not the music itself, but the limitations of the medium. As the average piece clocks in at about 4 - 5 minutes, you don't get more than snippets and snapshots of what I presume to be much longer sessions. Rivers is a musician that needs space to stretch out, but the snips do give a flavour or perhaps different hues of his multi-instrumental talents. I guess it's Rivers on piano on track 3, though not credited as such in the info I have.

The second set, from Foggia, Italy, is a sizzler, scorcher, killer; it fries, burns, cooks for well over an hour. No info on this one, but listening to it, it sounded very much like Dave Holland, though I was less sure that the drummer was Barry Altschul. In fact, one has to wait until the brief announcements towards the end to find out that it was Steve Ellington, with whom Rivers worked in his 60s Blue Note period. Rivers is obviously having a ball, ripping into a bit of scat singing at the end; Holland is playing his fingers off and Ellington is right on the dot. Rivers switches between tenor, soprano and flute and as mentioned, a bit of vocalising. You can sense that these guys know it each other by the ultra-tight interaction throughout. It reminds me a bit of the Buschi Niebergall trio I posted a while back in its sheer intensity and telepathic communication. This set is definitely among the best of the stuff I've posted here and one to come back to again and again.

The final set is from Warsaw:

The Sam Rivers Trio

Sam Rivers
Anthony Cole
Doug Mathews

recorded 6-24-00 at
The Warsaw summer Jazz Days

Coming off the Rivers/Holland/Ellington trio, this sounds bland to these ears; having nothing of the drive and intensity of the Foggia set. Both Cole and Mathews play a multitude of instruments in addition to bass and drums, but it doesn't match the 70s/80s concerts on offer here. Anyway, that's the first impression; with repeated listenings I may hear differently.

Dig in and enjoy!