Jazz Articles about Sam Rivers

Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1963-1964

by John Kelman
September 22, 2004

Eagerly anticipated, Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964 documents the emergence of Miles' second great quintet, featuring saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. It demonstrates, over the course of seven discs and seven hours, how critical each member of that quintet was. As the group coalesces over a period of two years it's tangible how everything falls into place, like a set of tumblers on a complicated lock.

Sam Rivers: Contrasts

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 16, 2004

As an icon of creative endeavors, the ECM label is world renown for its releases by such heavyweights as Dave Holland, Jan Garbarek, Keith Jarrett, and Jack DeJohnette, to name just a few. Probably much less acknowledged however are those little trinkets of musical pleasure that have fallen through the cracks over the years, several of which also happen to be unavailable on compact disc. In this latter category belongs one of the last major label releases that saxophonist Sam ...

Sam Rivers: Fuschia Swing Song

by David Vance
January 19, 2004

1964 was an important year for the jazz saxophone. John Coltrane recorded the seminal A Love Supreme and Eric Dolphy made Out to Lunch, a masterpiece of the early jazz avant-garde.

With that in mind, it’s not as surprising as it is unfortunate that saxophonist Sam Rivers’ debut Fuchsia Swing Song doesn’t get much press. Rivers went on to become one of the most original and important saxophone voices after Coltrane, but in 1964, he was virtually unknown and had ...

Sam Rivers Celebrates His 80th at the Jazz Bakery

by Rex Butters
December 1, 2003

Sam Rivers brought his boundless goodwill and energy to the Jazz Bakery for a week to celebrate his 80th birthday with adoring fans. The amazing Rivers played two sets a night, and jammed and recorded with local musicians after hours. The ebullient octogenarian performed with his longtime trio featuring Doug Matthews and Anthony Cole. Like Rivers, both Matthews and Cole are multi-instrumentalists yielding a variety of configurations, sometimes within the same piece. Matthews played acoustic bass, six string electric bass, ...

Sam Rivers Trio: Firestorm

by David Adler
May 1, 2001

Sam Rivers’s new trio is not just a trio. The avant-garde tenor legend, now in his late 70s, unites with the rhythm section from his Rivbea All-Star Orchestra — bassist Doug Mathews and drummer Anthony Cole. But what the simple word “trio" doesn’t tell you right off is that each player brings to the table prodigious skills on at least three instruments. These eleven independently released tracks were culled from live performances in New York, where audiences have been blessed ...

Sam Rivers' RivBea All-Star Orchestra: Culmination

by Mark Corroto
June 1, 2000

Recorded at the same session as last year’s Inspiration, the follow up disc Culmination delivers more of the same goods. Sam Rivers, long exiled (by choice) to Orlando, FL, has been making music in semi-obscurity for the past few decades with many of the Disney-based musicians. In this environs Rivers has total control over composition and arrangements, plus a supply of very talented but probably bored musicians. His 1996 trio recording Concept for the Rivbea is worth searching for.

Recently, ...

Sam Rivers' Rivbea All-Star Orchestra: Culmination

by David Adler
June 1, 2000

The anticipated follow-up to last year’s acclaimed Inspiration is here. Rivers, well into his 70s, is as sharp as ever on tenor, soprano, and flute. The music is similar to that heard on the previous album — strident yet sublime big band charts crafted by Rivers roughly between 1969 and 1994, resuscitated by alto sax man and M-Base creator Steve Coleman. Most are vamp-based funk pieces, the solos interspersed with tightly arranged, dissonant shout choruses and thematic statements from the ...