Sam Rivers Music

It is a privilege to live in the same city that Tapestry calls home, since I can see/hear them perform in person. But for all those times when they are performing in other places I can always put on one of their beautiful CDs. Their latest, The Fourth River, is a feast for the ears and I play it over and over. You will too! Buy it today, you'll be glad you did.

I was, hopefully, expecting a modern extension of Hildegard of Bingan's musical type and style, but instead was subjected to an amateurish rendering, complete with near-screeching and cacophanous harmonies. I can't wait to trade it in for some Hildegard!

This gorgeous CD by Tapestry is superb on many levels, including that it avoids what I dislike about certain female ensembles: wimpiness. Tapestry's spot-on and intense renderings of music spanning 8 centuries is challenging, beautiful, informed, and imaginative. May they continue the great work for a long time to come.

Unlike 'A Music Fan' (who can't spell Bingen) I found 'The Fourth River' entrancing from start to finish. I'm not sure what a modern extension of Hildegard's musical type is - what is a 'musical type' and how does one extend it? - but I found this CD to be full of mellifluous, uplifting and life-enhancing music. Try as I might, I couldn't find any screeching and cacophanous (sic.) is the last word I would use to describe the music, and the singing, on this CD. If 'A Music Fan' wanted Hildegard, why didn't he/she buy a Hildegard CD. It's a bit like complaining that Nine Inch Nails aren't Mozart......

The Fourth River is a a beautiful recording. I enjoyed it so much I purchased ten copies for my friends. I love the sound of Tapestry and the blending of the voices. The Fourth River is a joy to the ear and the soul. I hope Tapestry will be recording another CD soon!

This bargain collection of showtunes is highlighted by the composition of Kurt Weill and the uniquely rolling tongue of Colette Lyons. I have a complaint about this compilation. It includes "Ol' Man River", but it excludes Al Jolson's rendition of "Ol' Man River." Otherwise, this collection gives you ample bang for your buck.

One disc,55 minutes approximately. Digitally mastered,with a slight warmth to the sound,which fits perfectly with the eastern sounds of some of the tracks. The first track is very introspective. Workman(bass) plucks just the right notes creating an intelligent sounding bottom end. Gerry Hemingway(drums,electronic drum pads) fills in very delicately,never over-powering the others. Elizabeth Panzer(harp,not a harmonica) plucks some tones which add a surreal feel to the track. The star instrument on this track is played by Sam Rivers(flute),where notes seem to tumble out in short quick bursts,or individually with space left between them. To my ears there is the sound of tablas being played(Tapan Modak,tablas, is not listed on this track) at the end of this track,which picks up the overall feel of the tune for a fine finish. The second tune is a trio of Workman,Geri Allen(piano) and Hemingway. It's played fairly free,but not so far out that it can't be enjoyed by the jazz listener new to this music. The third tune has an insistent underlying beat to it,supported by Al Foster's drums,which allows both Rivers on tenor sax and Julien Priester(trombone) to both trade back and forth,and meld their instruments together in a somewhat atonal mode. The track ends with Workman coming to the front with just the right notes for a satisfying end. The fourth track begins with Priester and Modak trading sounds back and forth,complimenting each other on their respective instruments in a call and respone mode. Hemingway's drums begin about half way through and are very subtle. Likewise Workman's bass,which is played very sparingly. Both Rivers,on tenor,and Priester come in very subtly. All of this is played to Modak's tablas,which continue out front. This composition is very open and played slowly which gives it a deep feeling of introspection. It ends on a floating note much like the entire track. The next tune begins with Allen's piano out front in a mid-to-slow tempo. Again,the notes are open with plenty of space between them. Rivers plays some beautiful flute that dances around the sound of the piano. Workman's bass and Foster's drums are very quiet,but form a good backdrop for the others. Things pick up when Priester comes in,playing in a complimentary mode to Rivers'. The entire group,including Panzer's harp,picks up the tempo,and then slows it down once again for more of Rivers' flute. The track fades out like smoke in the air. Track six has Workman's plucked bass playing with Panzer's harp. Hemingway's drums are very subtle here,and together the two weave a very open sonic blanket that is definitely venturing into seemingly unstructured music. This track is a good example of letting musicians play seemingly at will,but the impression is of music carefully written and arranged,but left open on purpose. This track tries very hard "to be something", but doesn't quite stand up like the others in the end. The seventh composition has Rivers on soprano sax with Workman's bass,and Allen's piano playing in and out of each other. Hemingway's drums are played to fill up any open areas. Allen's piano takes center stage,sounding not unlike Cecil Taylor in tone and note clusters. Rivers' soprano is unmistakable here,as he plays against the piano in a flurry of intense notes. Firing cluster after cluster,Rivers takes center stage,with everyone following his lead. This is another example of music seemingly made up on the spot,but still with a composed feeling to it. About three quarters through,Workman plays his bass in a walking be-bop mode that's very unexpected,only to dissolve it into what the rest of the group are playing. The final track begins with Workman bowing his bass with Panzer's harp and Allen's piano filling in spots around Workman. This is a good place to hear Allen use the piano as a true stringed instrument. This is a very well thought out and played group of compositions. All the players are sensitive to the compositions and to each other. The blend of different players is inspired. While this may be a bit abstract for someone used to listening to straight ahead jazz,it's not difficult to get into if the listener will give it a chance. Another album by Workman,in the same mode,is SUMMIT CONFERENCE(Postcard Records) which has both Priester and Rivers playing all over it. Both are recommended to those with an adventurous,open listening spirit,who think that jazz should continue to evolve.

i like how workman broke the group up into different arrangements for each piece, allowing space for each of the players. al foster's sound is energetic, geri allen stretches in a way i don't hear her on her own cd's.
there's all out playing by sam rivers and julian priester on fast forward. half of my soul is a combination of eastern music and the western ballad. the entire cd works well with an eastern influence, particularly the combination of bass, harp, flute and tablas.

"Cerebral Caverns" is an outstanding 90s album made by some of the great jazz names of the 60s. Bassist Reggie Workman, who gained fame as a member of John Coltrane's quartet and as a sideman on some classic Blue Note albums of the 60s, has assembled an all-star group featuring some great players who first made their names in the 60s -- Sam Rivers, Julian Priester and Al Foster -- and some great players of the 80s and 90s -- Gerry Hemingway and Geri Allen. "Cerebral Caverns" alternates between spacious, Middle Eastern-tinged soundscapes like "Cerebral Caverns," "Ballad Explorations" and "Seasonal Elements," largely due to the inclusion of tabla player Tapan Hudak and harpist Elizabeth Ranzer, and modern jazz explorations like "Fast Forward," "Half Of My Soul" and "Evolution." It is quite refreshing to see that Workman, who helped forge the new sound in the 60s on the seminal Coltrane Village Vanguard recordings, is still exploring jazz's future almost forty years later.

horns. lots of horns. i like lots of horns. reminds me of a jam session where the best of horn players show up.

the horn ensembles playing rhythmic choruses repeatedly gets to be a bit redundant, but the many solos make the recording. lots of energy.

From the open notes, this music will seem very familiar to those who have heard INspiration. The difference is the concise nature of the tracks. Many of the tracks here are under ten minutes

The two CDs show Rivers to be an awesome arranger and composer (maybe they won't rob him of a grammy this year-don't hold your breath). Hopefully one day we'll have some recordings available of these compositions the way Rivers intended, with extended lengths of 50+ minutes. UNtil then, lets savor what is available.

i'm not a big fan of sam rivers' playing. i don't rank his playing with the saxophone greats who came out of the 60s. his style has never captivated my attention during focused listening or leaped out and pounced, catching me unaware with some incredible combination of notes while i was doing housework.

to his credit, as a player, he's been fortunate, a brief tryout with the miles davis quintet, recording on dave holland's conference of the birds, and with andrew hill. his best playing to date i've heard has been with jason moran, one of the newer players honoring the musicians who paved the road of jazz for them with spots on their recording dates. on the strength of rivers on the moran recording, black stars, i jumped on the revival bandwagon, mentioning the name sam rivers as fervently as a teenager shouting out the name of the latest mega successful rapper tearing it up.

in my case, i'm just trying to keep the music alive for those who would listen, while still waiting for that moment when an early sam rivers' recording happens to be grouped with cd's on my carousel that fits his brand of playing for my ear.

dimensions and extensions is important component in the sam rivers' technology. four horns and the absence of piano stretch the sound toward things to come years later with the sam rivers' rivbea all-star orchestra, free form solos and vibrant energy on a large scale, the rivers' sound i prefer.

Man, what a great record... I don't do too many reviews, but this music should be heard by more people. Love the Rudy Van Gelder editions too.

With the reissue of "Dimensions & Extensions," three of Sam Rivers' four Blue Note albums are now available domestically on CD. (I personally couldn't have ever imagined this happening when I purchased the Rivers Mosaic Set a dozen years ago.) This March 17, 1967 session is certainly the most avant-garde outing Rivers had for the label, and signaled the tone of later efforts he would make in the 70s for Impulse and ECM. The expanded frontline personnel of James Spaulding, Donald Byrd and Julian Priester, and the pianoless rhythm duo of Cecil McBee and Steve Ellington lay the ground work for this departure. But it is Rivers' increasingly complex original compositions that showcase a new level in his talent. Granted his extreme take on standards on his previous album (the still OOP "A New Conception") was far from run of the mill, but the depth and layering in these tunes compared to Fuchsia Swing Song or Contours (see my reviews) is striking. Fans of the more "eccentric" mid 60s Blue Notes -- Out to Lunch, Dialogue, Point of Departure, Life Time, etc. -- will be delighted with the dimension of this disc!

Can't believe there were no previous reviews. The textural interplay of the horns and the synth are great. And that's only the beginning.