Sam Rivers Music

Definitely where cool's going to be at, in the next cent. on the whole a very tight, very cerebral album with occasional bursts of total joy. 'downhill slalom''s my favourite - it's only once a year you get to hear drumming like that.

One disc,56 minutes approximately. Digitally remastered-but the sound is still fairly warm,with good spatial qualities between the instruments. Workman has played with a number of well known jazz musicians over many years. Here he has brought together a like number of jazz musicians with the same outlook and playing temperament as his own. Besides Workman on bass,the group consists of Andrew Hill-piano,Sam Rivers-saxes and flute,Julian Priester-trombone,and Pheeroan akLaff-drums.The first track gets off to a rousing start,with all the players weaving a fairly dense sound,while both Workman and akLaff hold onto and build a solid bottom on this composition. This tune sets the pace for whats to come-a combination of freer jazz and straight ahead playing. The second track slows down a bit,but has the same tonal qualities as the first track. This tune gives Priester a chance to shine on the trombone while the others comp behind him and sometimes with him. The third track starts out on a "freer"sound and then locks into a somewhat atonal groove with both Workman and Rivers playing notes over the rest of the group. Hill gets a chance to play some interlocking notes that blend in with the composition. This track is played a bit softer and slower than the preceding tunes,and gives the listener a chance to really hear the different players. This tune is just barely into the "free" zone,but is still easy to follow. The fourth track has a grounding in post modern bop,as the bass and drums lay down a bottom sound that lets Rivers start to really assert himself on the sax. Priester comes in with some very lovely straight ahead blowing that compliments Rivers and the rhythm section. akLaff gets a chance to show his prowess on the drums for a fairly short solo. Track five is a delicate sounding tune,with Priester playing some well thought out notes with Hill and Rivers very subtle in the background. It then picks up speed with Rivers playing intensely but not to far outside. Workman comes in with a very intelligent bass solo,with the rest of the group coming in at just the right time for a beautiful finish. This track is probably as close to straight ahead jazz as these players get on this recording. Track six sounds more in the vein of the first two tracks-a combination of dissonance and some almost straight ahead playing. For those of you who are familiar with Rivers,his playing will come as no surprise. Likewise Priester,whose trombone sound and approach is much like Rivers. Both these players trade and blend their respective sounds over the well placed notes of Hill,and the rhythm section. Track seven starts very quietly with Workman and akLaff trading sounds. Then both horns come in together and weave a subtle blanket of sound which really calls for the listener to pay attention. The intensity builds up between the group and gives this tune a real identity. The final track begins with some lovely bowing by Workman,with Hill coming in to play some spare notes. On top of this Rivers plays some gorgeous flute,which accents this piece very well. This is perhaps the quietest piece of the album. No intense note clusters,just some spare notes from the players,who leave a lot of space between in order to emphasize the feeling of calmness. Hill takes center stage here with Rivers,again,playing some delicate flute,with Workman very subtly in the background. akLaff plays his most delicate percussion of the entire album here,and it fits perfectly. The notes are short and to the point: Workman gives a short synopsis of the tunes and a bit of information about each. This(along with CEREBRAL CAVERNS also by Workman) belong in every jazz lover's library. It is fine intelligent music that is not heard to often today,and that's to bad, for music of this quality should be much wider known and appreciated.

i've owned this cd for awhile and i'm just catching up to fully appreciating it, which is a result of being a newcomer to andrew hill's music and being overwhelmed with his compositional skills. there's only one cut under hill's name, but listening to it again i do so in the context of his other compositions. not to take anything away from the other players reggie workman gathered for this recording, all of them heavyweights, workman himself on bass and at the lead as composer of two of the eight numbers, julian preistley on trombone, the amazing sam rivers on sax and flute, and pheerroan aklaff on drums, who i had the pleasure of hearing in a small jazz club years ago. this is music by musicians with unique styles, styles, except for andrew hill's, familiar to me. i haven't quite caught up to hill's piano yet, but i'm still listening-- workman after all chose him for all for the right reasons. as a listener, i just had to step up and bring more to table.

Those who missed the live performances of this outstanding group at Yoshi's in Oakland, California a few years back are in for a treat. In keeping with the name of the session, the listener can expect first-rate musical dialogue between pianist Andrew Hill, flute and reed master Sam Rivers, trombonist Julian Priester, and bassist Reggie Workman, which is on a par with their respective landmark performances on Blue Note Records. Hill and Rivers are musical soulmates who share a rhythmic and harmonic temperment which is unique in Jazz, and their work together is nothing less than passionate and stunning, particularly in the pianist's original composition entitled "Gone".

Contrary to assertions to the effect that Dr. Hill has only recently resurfaced after years of obscurity, Summit Conference offers convincing proof that the grand master has always been with us.

I had never heard of Bruce Ditmas when I bought this cd. I bought it primarily to listen to legends Paul Bley and Sam Rivers. They don't disappoint, but they also aren't alotted a great deal of solo space. Rivers plays fantastically on "Power Surge" and "Thursday Nite Special" but gets only about five minutes of total solo time during the album's other 50 minutes. Bley has his moments as well, especially at the beginnings of "What If" and "Celver Conversation." However, Bley's playing is consistently crowded out by Ditmas's drumming and Dominic Richards's bass. Richards and Ditmas would sound more at home as the rhythm section for Metallica than they do in a jazz quintet. Ditmas plays in a constantly deep thumping style with a lot of bass drum and frequent moments of loud crashing cymbals and Richards's bass thumps augment Ditmas's excessively loud playing. Rounding out Ditmas's quintet is guitarist John Abercrombie. I've never been a big Abercrombie fan, and he does nothing to change my opinion here. The timbre of the effects that Abercrombie uses on his guitar have always grated on my ears, but it is the style of his playing that leaves me so puzzled about why so many consider him a legend. He typically plays in short bursts of notes that seem aimless and unconnected to one another. When he does play a lot of notes in a row it is frequently a short pattern of notes that he simply moves chromatically up or down the neck of the guitar. In addition, Abercrombie does a lot of simply making sounds with his guitar--bends and squeals--that don't add a great deal to the music. Overall, it seems to me that these guys are trying for more of a soundcape effect than a chance to show off their individual musicianship. However, the individual styles of the musicians don't mesh in a way that creates a really inspiring result. Abercrombie has a lot of solo time, so fans of his work might like this. Sam Rivers superfans may want this as well, for the two songs in which he features prominently (and plays very well). Most others would likely prefer to invest in something else.

It is a cliche to say so but that will not deter me - ISLAND SEVEN which opens the program of music on this fine CD is enough for me for the price of the album. Mr Ditmas sets up a sonic almost thunderous but intensely music backdrop to a stunning set of solos from the musicians involved. Musicians? Artists, legends, greats might be a better description, but more of these later. This opening track reminds one of Africa and its musical history but the music morphs into a more reflective conclusion through the guitar work of John Abercombie. The piano solo is a stunner. The title track also begings with the drums of leader and composer of all seven pieces. The music is on the free side of the music allowing considerable space for improvising and does feature Mr Abercombie on a joint composition PULP letting loose with a solo of remarkable power. DONT WAKE ME features the sythesizer work of Mr Bley. Mr Rivers is still playing as if he were thirty years of age on POWER SURGE. The BIG EASY suite is the compositional highlight with an extensive solo by Mr Rivers on soprano sax, more glorious drumming by Mr Ditmas, and a brilliant quirky stomping swinging THURDAY NITE SPECIAL.
Norman Granz was famous for getting musicians together who may not have otherwise had the opportunity, and this has been a feature of Metronome Magazine, etc, in the old days during award time. Mr Alfred Lion did the same at Blue Note. In the present case Mr Ditmas and Mr Simon invited some musicians he has greatly admired over the years for his recording date and what legends they are. The musical history that these three - Bley, Rivers, Abercrombie - embrace and have been part of has really been the major evolution of improvised music in the past fifty years. This is a beautiful album, invigorating, powerful, and swinging. Thank goodness for POSTCARDS.

Moondog is a nice CD to hear early work by Louis Hardin. The songs are like scetches and very interesting pre-studies for later work.

Odd-ball individuals are more common than geniuses, but Moondog is both. Harry Partch had the highest regard for this blind graduate of Julliard, whose fantastic get-up of skins, furs and horns might have detracted from the impact of less seminal music. Since he was immensely tall, he made quite an apparition. Moondog's primitivo get-up was odd, to say the least, but since Moondog was blind, one wonders who put the costume together. Moondog, like Harry, invented most of the instruments he played standing on the corener at the Avenue of the Americas. His music reaches back into prehistory in its effect, and has a kindness to it, if that may be a reasonable thing to say. Later, Moondog became sort of a darling of the avant garde, and composed for traditional instruments, but the earlier the recorded work, the more deep down and pure it was. The later work is slicker, but just as intelligent.

Blind he is our Moondog, but he does not bark for pity. He listens to and reproduces what he can capture with his ears. That means his work is a tremendous compilation of sounds from the real world, animals or just insects, his own baby and his own wife, or just some beating on a drum, or the frail dancing of a pipe along with a frog and a cricket. It is this extreme patchwork of sounds, voices, noise and music under the light enchantment from the moon that our artist is imagining in his eternal night. At least for him the moon never sets, never disappears over or behind the hills. "Surf Session" is the only piece that has some real length. The sea surf, the sea waves, the breaking of these waves we imagine along some pebbly seaside give a strange depth to the very both Asian and tremendously romantic music that manages to float forever over the rather powerful vortex of the sea, the ocean. The nearly Chinese constant grace-notes give the music a charm that is both discrete and so strong we seem to be able to imagine some Last Emperor advancing in the Forbidden City just before defeating his beleaguered wife and sons under the sign of some golden flower. The "Street Scene" is less fascinating because it is aimless, it lacks a direction and a destination? "I must never follow you and you must never follow me." He is roaming on and on, around and around, in that incessant, menacing, mechanical noise that comes up from the New York street locked up in between the walls of surrounding buildings. Can that be life? And what can it sound like to a blind man? Is it worse or less violent than what the famous Arthur Miller's Salesman felt, heard and experienced in his trapped two storied house in the middle of surrounding skyscrapers and under the crushing noise of thousands of motor vehicles? We will never know, except if we decide to do what dipus did when he realized his criminal inability to see the fate that was his. And he lived ever after like a dog in the eternal night of his blindness remembering the moonshine and the sunshine, tolerating the insults and petty assaults from those whose yes are not bleeding dead.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

Louis T. Hardin did not graduate from the Juliard. He went to a school in Iowa and Memphis, but was mostly self taught. Listen to this with your eyes closed.

5 stars for free jazz but wat happens when bass guitar comes in

"Celebration" is the title of the latest release by the Sam Rivers Trio, consisting of master musician Sam Rivers, bassist & bass clarinetist Doug Matthews and drummer, pianist & saxophonist Anthony Cole. This 2004 Posi-Tone release was recorded before an audience during a two night stint at the Jazz Bakery (Culver City, CA) in 2003. I saw Sam Rivers sitting in with the Jason Moran Trio not long after the recording of "Celebration" and Rivers was playing sax with the vigor of a man half (or even a third) his age. But as remarkable as Rivers was that night, it's with his own trio that he is at his best. Each member of the Sam Rivers Trio is fluent on multiple instruments which makes for a broad canvas for Rivers to paint his compositions. The music is pure Rivers - abstract and angular, sometimes funky and sometimes swinging. Traditional avant-garde, maybe. A particular highlight for me is the song "Glimpse" with Rivers on piano, backed by bass and drums: starting off with spikey solo piano it grows into a Cecil Taylor-esque torrent of notes and drumbeats, then breaks into a beautiful melody built around McCoy Tyner-type block chords backed by a intensely-swinging rhythm section.

To my knowledge, "Celebration" is the third Trio recording - the previous two being "Concept" and "Firestorm". "Concept" and "Firestorm", also captured live, are great recordings but may be surpassed by "Celebration" if only for the reason that the musical interplay between Rivers, Matthews and Cole has grown over time and the results are more evident on "Celebration". As an example of how cohesive a unit the Sam Rivers Trio has become, they seem to have found a second calling as a support band, backing up Steve Bernstein on his "Diaspora Blues" and David Manson on his "Fluid Motion" recording. In a day when most jazz recordings consist of a bankable 'star' + guests, a recording with such a road-tested, musically-telepathic band is cause for real celebration.

Sam Rivers: Tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, paino.
Doug Matthes: Bass violin, 6-string electric bass, bass clarinet.
Anthony Cole: Drums, piano, tenor saxophone.
Total time: 76:45

This is about the first four compositions. Overall, the music is a jittery and nervous type of jazz, rather than being noisy, thrashing, and torrential.

RECOGNITION. This piece starts with a 45 second drum solo. Then Mr.Rivers begins with his trademark bleating shepherd's call on soprano sax. Dave Mathew's acoustic bass joints in, and spews out a continuous stream of notes, just as Dave Holland did some 25 years earlier. Recognition gets this disc off to a rousing start. There are twelve pieces in all, with an overall timing of about 75 minutes.

COMMEMORATION. This begins with solo soprano sax, then Anthony Cole joins in with deeper throated tones from a tenor sax. The pair of saxophones might be said to invoke a pair of creatures, mating in the wild. Half way through the piece, Mr.Rivers plays a pleasant little dance tune, something a child might sing. The piece ends with a sax playing a turkey gobble.

OBSERVANCE. This is the greatest piece of the album. Observance begins with a tuneful, dinner-jazz piano, lasting for about 15 seconds. The mood then turns Cecil Tayloresque, then returns to the dinner jazz piano. Then the Cecil Taylor cascade of notes returns. Then dinner jazz piano. Cecil Taylor. Then dinner jazz. Then Cecil Taylor. At five minutes and 45 seconds, Mr.Rivers plays tone clusters on the piano, a technique pioneered by American composer Charles Ives. Then the drums and acoustic bass join in--it is not piano solo any more. More tone clusters banging. Spewing bass notes, just like Dave Holland did 25 years ago, when he was with Sam Rivers. At 7 minutes and 30 seconds, all is silent except for a drum solo. The drum solo, without break, segues into the next piece, Clarion. (Mr.River's piano style is not exactly like that of Cecil Taylor; I don't mean to imply they are the same.)

CLARION. Clarion begins with a fast drum solo. Then the bass joins in. They conspire together to break the unspoken musical speed limit. We can hear Mr.Rivers calling and vocalizing in the background. At 2 1/2 minutes, Rivers begins on tenor sax--and all three instruments are cooking. At 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Rivers plays some squawking, sounding like Anthony Braxton at his squawkiest. But the squawking is not for long. A bit later, at 6 minutes, the squawks make a brief comeback.

The quality of the sound is excellent. We hear all the horn notes, and are able to distinguish the sounds emitted from every tap of the drumsticks.

I saw Sam Rivers with Dave Holland, during the late 1970s, at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. More recently, perhaps in 2004, I saw him perform at Yoshi's in Oakland.

Mr.Rivers made another recording, during the early 1980s, in Italy. This recording included Barry Altschul. I hope someday, that this energetic recording will be reissued on C.D.