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Sam Rivers Trio: Caldera

By Mark Corroto
September 8, 2022
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With all proper respect to

Sam Rivers

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Rivers' '70s trio with

Dave Holland

bass
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Holland and

Barry Altschul

drums
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Altschul, his working band from 1993 to 2006 with bassist

Doug Mathews

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Doug Mathews and drummer

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Cole is a superior ensemble. NoBusiness Records continues their Sam Rivers Archive Project with their sixth release Caldera. The label has culled music from Rivers' performances from as early as 1971 to this latest live performance, in 2002, captured in New Orleans.

In the '60s Rivers found himself smack dab in the middle of the New Thing movement in jazz. He recorded with the young drummer

Tony Williams

drums
1945 - 1997

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Williams before getting a call from

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis, then

Cecil Taylor

piano
1929 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Cecil Taylor and

Andrew Hill

piano
1931 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrew Hill. His Blue Note recordings, Fuchsia Swing Song (1965) and Contours (1967) are classics. His RivBea loft in New York was a creative hub not only for himself, but many other artists. In 1991 he moved to Florida and, as far as the New York cognoscenti and press were concerned, he had taken up residence on the moon. Enter local musicians Mathews and Cole. Rivers never stopped his music growing, both in large and small ensembles. With this trio, he found the most sympathetic partners. They were musicians, like Rivers, capable of switching to instruments well outside of their area code. The drummer Cole is adept at the piano and the tenor saxophone and Mathews plays both acoustic and electric bass, plus bass clarinet. For his part here, Rivers doubles, er quadruples, on tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, and piano.

The concert in New Orleans opens with a two-punch piano assault duo from Rivers and Cole. The seventeen-minute "Improvisation I" is an exhaustive perambulation with Mathews' acoustic bass keeping time. Spacetime. Onward to a prolonged bowed "Bass Solo," an efficient "Drum Solo," and the two saxophone plus bass meditation "Unity." Rivers' trust in his partners is obvious throughout. He returns to his composition "Beatrice" (now a jazz standard) sounding as fresh on tenor in 2002 as he did in 1964. "Improvisation II" with Rivers on flute is an all out sprint which also supplies a taut funky groove. That energy spills over into "Offering," and Rivers' switches to a soprano saxophone which sounds like a bird soaring over an ocean of sound generated by electric bass and drums. The final "Improvisation III" opens with a post-bop free jazz piano trio that transitions into a saxophone trio. River and company traverse energy systems and the outer stratosphere with an ease only available to the tightest working ensembles.

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Track Listing

Improvisation I; Bass Solo; Unity; Beatrice; Drum Solo; Improvisation II�� Offering; Improvisation III.

Personnel

Sam Rivers

saxophone, tenor

Doug Mathews

bass, acoustic

Anthony Cole

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Sam Rivers: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, piano, vocals; Doug Mathews: upright bass, electric bass, bass clarinet; Anthony Cole: drums, tenor saxophone, piano.

Album information

Title: Caldera | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: NoBusiness Records

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