Records, Sam Rivers, Crystals ASD-9286

"Same Rivers in an Orchestral context, featuring his compositions and arrangements" is what it says on the outside of the crystalline, multi-faceted album cover. "Orchestra" doesn't mean a bunch of people all suited up and playing violins and stuff, what it is, is a jazz orchestra with saxophones, trumpets, trombones, bass and drums. Forty years ago, people like Duke Ellington and Count Basie had bands with this instrumentation that were playing creative music of that time. Both these band still play, but their songs and style are very much from an earlier time. Sam's group, however, is very much of today. The closest thing you get to hear like it around here is Sun Ra's Arkestra. Watch out for comparisons, though, cause Sun Ra's band is a more collective thing, with many featured soloists and large percussion jams. Sam's album is very much Sam's. The compositions all feature him playing his three main instruments, soprano sax, flute, and tenor sax (he also plays piano).

It's a darn shame that you have to go to nasty ol' New York to see this Great Black Music performed. The jazz clubs in the "big apple" have always been the major source of employment for the musicians, and so that's where most of them live.

Since the sixties, though, many of the most creative players have been unable to play gigs because the music they play is too advanced for club-owners who are used to what was played when they were young (they probably also realize that new high-energy music fans get blown away at performances and don't remember or aren't in the mood to consume quantities of drinks, which is what the management wants).

Sam has dealt with this totally head on by setting up his own place to play. Rivbea Studio, where new musicians can play. Right on. Self-determination. Music!

It's sorta weird to call Sam a "new musician," though, 'cause he's been around for a long time. He was in Miles Davis' band for a Japan tour in 1961. He recorded a few albums under his own name for Blue Note in the sixties, and he played on a totally killer Tony Williams record, "Spring" with Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. It wasn't until the beginning of the seventies that he became the major force in modern music that he is now. A record he made with Dave Holland. "Conference of the Birds" and his recent trio record, "Streams" are uplifting records by a strong artist in a post-Coltrane idiom.

I didn't give any details about the songs on this record because Sam's liner notes are so clear and informative. Sometimes, it seem to me that a lot of liner notes (and reviews) are sorta "after the fact." If you read them while the record is playing, you miss some of the music. This is not the case here, as Sam says what is really going on.

Impulse Records should set up a tour for Sam Rivers and his band to bring the message to the folks out here. Play on, Brother Sam!

David Swain