Sam Rivers and Two Bonus Tracks

This time of year is a saxophone lover’s dream. John Coltrane’s birthday is September 23, Pharoah Sander’s memorial is September 24, Sam Rivers’ birthday is September 25, and John Gilmore’s birthday is September 28.

This year, Sam Rivers’ birthday this is worth particular attention since it is his centennial. It always feels like Rivers’ was the overlooked compared to his contemporaries (e.g. Sanders, Archie Shepp, Jackie McLean, and so on). For example, he was never named a NEA Jazz Master despite his clear status as one of the most innovative voices in jazz and as a central figure in the 1970s loft jazz scene which served as an incubator for improvised music in the 1970s.

Like many of the musicians of his era, Rivers crossed the line from “hard bop” to more modal and freer forms of jazz in the 1960s and 1970s. His mid-1960s albums with Blue Note, for example, are distinctive and stand out in a catalog which was turning increasingly to more commercial “soul jazz”. Check out A New Conception (1967): 

I really enjoy his 1974 Impulse! album Crystals which features a massive orchestra of over 60 musicians (there seems to be some disputing how many and who played on this recording, but the wikipedia page gives you a good sense for the type of folks who participated). The entire album is worth a listen, especially for those of you who like 1970s experimental big bands, but the track “Tranquility” is a favorite:

As a more off beat album of Rivers which appears to have never been released on CD, check out his 1975 follow up to Crystals: Sizzle. It’s electronic and it’s R&B inflected, but it isn’t your typical fusion take from the 1970s. It’s something else entirely and obviously deserves a re-release: 

I have a couple bonus tracks today. 

First, I’d be remiss not to recognize John Gilmore’s birthday. I could try in my own inelegant way to reflect on his accomplishments and contributions to Sun Ra’s Arkestra, but I’d make a bit of a mess of it, to be honest. Instead, I direct you to Sam Byrd’s blog which highlights some of Gilmore’s most compelling tracks. 

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Sun Ra and John Gilmore tracks from a 1977 live recording in New York. You can read about it in Sun Ra Sundays here. It’s a nice reminder of the close relationship between Gilmore and Coltrane:

One last and unrelated bonus track. If you’re a fan of the Replacements, the newly remastered version of Tim (called, I believe, the Let it Bleed Edition) is worth a play or two. Check out one of my favorite Replacements’ tracks, “Bastards of Young”: