Sam Rivers - RIP

[LouieB]

Jazz great Sam Rivers passed away today. He was 88.

 

LouieB

[jff]

Damn. I love him and was hoping to see him again. He is one of the most inspiring musicians I've ever had the pleasure of hearing

[bböp]

Yeah, RIP indeed. Hadn't realized he had been living in Florida since the early 1990s. Definitely someone I wish I would have gotten a chance to see perform.

 

Here's the NY Times obit by Nate Chinen.

[calvino]

Below is a write up from the DMG Newsletter for December 30th, 2011:

 

On December 26th, the legendary Sam Rivers passed away. Born in

September of 1923, Sam Rivers was 88 at the time of his passing. Mr.

Rivers was a modern jazz legend who played tenor & soprano sax, flute

and piano. He was renown for his composing skills, leading small

bands and orchestras, as well as teaching. Mr. Rivers was based in

Boston since 1947 where he attended Boston Conservatory and played

with notable musicians like Herb Pomeroy, Tadd Dameron and later with

the teenage drummer Tony Williams (in 1959). Tony recommended Sam to

Miles Davis who hired him in 1964 and recorded on 'Miles in Tokyo'

release before Wayne Shorter took the sax [and primary composer]

chair in Miles' famous mid-sixties quintet.

Sam Rivers recorded four albums for Blue Note from 1964 to 1967 as

well a later-released (1975) double LP called 'Involution' of

unreleased sessions from the same Blue Note period. In 1970 Sam & his

wife Beatrice opened what was one of the first loft spaces on Bond

Street near Lafayette called the Studio Rivbea. Throughout the

seventies, the Studio Rivbea was the home to the avant/jazz scene in

the east village. It was cheap, friendly and most of the musicians

mingled freely with the audience. From the mid-seventies onwards, I

used to attend gigs weekly on Bond St. at the Rivbea as well as down

the block at the Ladies Fort or the Tin Palace, all within a two

block radius. Mr. Rivers ran a week-long festival known as 'The

Wildflowers Session' during this period which was recorded and

released as a five LP set and eventually reissued as a 3 CD set. It

is essential listening for those who appreciate avant/jazz from this

historic & creative period. The very first loft jazz gig I attended

was at Ornette Coleman's Artist House space in the summer of 1973.

Performing that day was the Sam River Trio with Dave Holland on bass

and Barry Altschul on drums. It was about 100 degrees outside and not

much better inside. I was just getting into jazz and had not heard

anything like this before so I was both confused and excited at the

same time. This trio was Sam's main group for a number of years and I

caught them at the Rivbea perhaps a dozen times during the

mid-seventies and was blown away every time. I have been a Sam Rivers

fan-addict ever since, catching him live as often as possible as well

as collecting his large catalogue of releases.

Sam & Bea Rivers eventually moved to Orlando, Florida where Sam led

an ongoing big band for the past decade plus. The Rivbea Orchestra

played at an earlier Vision Fest as well as at a Columbia sponsored

gig uptown. Rivers continued to compose throughout his long life and

has a vast book of compositions which he had been trying to record

for many years. A Mosaic triple CD of Florida-based Rivbea Orchestra

was released last year and was to have been the first part of Mr.

Rivers' efforts to document he vast book of music. The majority of

Sam Rivers' records from the sixties and seventies are sadly

out-of-print, although a handful of his more recently efforts as a

leader and a sideman are still available.

 

Let us raise a toast to the great Sam Rivers, long will his spirit

and music live on in our hearts and minds. - BLG

 

Here is a lengthy-but-not-complete discography

 

 

As a Leader:

 

1964 (age 40) Fuchsia Swing Song (Blue Note) w/ Jaki Byard/Ron

Carter/Tony Williams

 

1965: Contours (BN) w/ Freddie Hubbard/Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Tony Williams

 

1966: A New Conception (Blue Note) w/ Hal Galper/Herbert Lewis/Steve Ellington

 

1967: Dimensions & Extensions (Blue Note) w/ James Spaulding, Donald Byrd

 

1973: Streams (Impulse!) w/ Cecil McBee & Norman Connors - at

Montreaux Jazz 7/6/73

 

1974: Crystals (Impulse!) w/ Ted Daniels, Joe Daley, Paul Jeffery,

Roland Alexander...

 

1975: Involution (BN) 2-LP Set w/ Andrew Hill, Walter Booker & JC

Moses - rec '66 & '67

 

1975: Hues (Impulse!) w/ Cecil McBee, Richard Davis, Warren Smith...

(rec 1971-'73)

 

1976: Sizzle (Impulse!) w/ Ted Dunbar/Dave Holland/Barry Altschul/Warren Smith

 

1976: Dave Holland / Sam Rivers (IAI 373843) rec 2/18/76 - studio date

 

1976: Sam Rivers / Dave Holland - Vol. 2 (IAI 373848) rec 2/18/76 - studio date

 

1976: The Tuba Trios - Vols. 1-3 (Circle) w/ Joe Daley & Warren Smith

 

1976: Jazz of the Seventies (Circle)

 

1977: The Quest (Pausa) w/ Dave Holland & Barry Altschul - rec Milano

March, 1976

 

1977: Black Africa! Villagro - (Horo 3-4)[2 LP Set] w/ Joe Daley, Don

Pullen & Sidney Smart

 

1977: Black Africa! Perugia (Horo 5/6) [2 LP Set] w/ Joe Daley & Sidney Smart!

 

1977: Paragon (Fluid 101; France) w/ Dave Holland & Barry Altschul -

rec 4/18/77

 

1977 - Sam Rivers & Mario Schiano - Rendez-Vous (Vedette/Red 8375) w/

Holland & Altschul - rec 4/28/77

 

1979: Waves (Tomato 8002) w/ Dave Holland/Joe Daley/Thurman Barker - rec 8/78

 

1980: Contrasts (ECM 1162) w/ George Lewis/Dave Holland/Thurman

Barker - rec 12/79

 

1980: The First Cycle (Music from Dartmouth) w/ Bill Cole & Warren Smith

 

1981: Crosscurrent: Live at Unite (Blue Marge) w/ Rael Wesley Grant

& Steve Ellington

 

1982: SR's Rivbea Orchestra - Live 1982: Jazzbuhne Berlin Vol 10

(Repertoire JB 4910)

 

1983: SR's Winds of Manhattan - Colours (Black Saint) w/ Steve

Coleman,Bobby Watson

 

1990 - Sam Rivers Qt - Lazuli (Timeless 291) w/ Daryll Thompson/Real

Wesley Grant &

 

1994: Sam Rivers & Alex Von Schlippenbach - Background for Improvisers (FMP 75)

 

1995/1996 : Sam Rivers /Anthony Cole/Doug Mathews - Concept (Rivbea

Sound 50101)

 

1997: Portrait: Solo (FMP 82; Germany) rec solo June, 1995

 

1997: Configuration (Nato) w/ Noel Akchote/Tony Hymas/Paul

Rogers/Jacques Thollot

 

1998: Sam Rivers Trio - Live (Impulse!) CD w/ Cecil McBee, Arild

Anderson, Lewis Worrell & Barry Altschul - rec 8/3/73 & 11/10/73

 

1998: Sam Rivers & Alex Von Schlippenbach - Tangens (FMP 99; Germany) rec 11/97

 

1998: Sam Rivers & Tony Hymas - Eight Day Journal (Nato)

 

1999: Sam Rivers & Tony Hymas - Winter Garden (Nato)

 

1999: Sam Rivers Rivbea Orchestra - Inspiration (RCA 64717)

 

1999: Sam Rivers All-Star Rivbea Orchestra - Culmination (RCA 68311)

 

2000 : Julian Priester & Sam Rivers - Hints On Light And Shadow (Arkadia 1017)

 

200? - Sam Rivers/Adam Rudolph/Harris Eisenstadt - Vistas (Meta 09)

 

200? - Sam Rivers Trio - Firestorm (Rivbea Sound) w/ Doug Matthews &

Anthony Cole!

 

2004 - Sam Rivers Trio - Celebration (Posi-Tone 8017) w/ Doug

Matthews/Anthony Cole

 

2006? - Sam Rivers Rivbea Orchestra - Aurora (Rivbea Sound)

 

200? - Sam Rivers Quintet - Fluid Motion (Isosphin 3029/40258)

 

200? - Sam Rivers/Ben Street/Bryan Carrott/Kresten Osgood - Purple

Violets (Stunt)

 

200? - Sam Rivers/Ben Sreet/Kresten Osgood - Violet Violets (Stunt 5112)

 

2011: Triology (Mosaic)

 

Sam Rivers also recorded a number of discs a sideman for Bobby

Hutcherson, Andrew Hill & Tony Williams on Blue Note in the sixties

and with Cecil Taylor, Dave Holland, Dick Griffin & Don Pullen in the

seventies. In the past decade Mr. Rivers also recorded for Franklin

Kiermyer's 'Kairos' album (on Evidence), for Steve Bernstein's

'Diaspora Blues' (Tzadik) and for Brian Groder's 'Torque (Latham).

All three are highly recommended although the Kiermyer CD is not so

easy to find.