Sam Rivers, a saxophonist, was born as a bebop musician. However, his bold style led him to the world of free improvisation. He rose to prominence with the rise of free jazz in 1960s. Rivers was raised on the road by his parents, Lillain (a gospel musician) and Samuel (a saxophonist). In 1947, he began his studies at the Boston Conservatory. He then transferred to Boston University where he studied composition. He quickly became involved in Boston’s jazz scene, working alongside other students, including Jaki Byard and Gigi Gryce. Tony Williams, a young jazz musician, introduced That Rivers to Miles Davis. Rivers performed briefly with the trumpet player’s quintet. Rivers recorded Miles in Tokyo, with the Miles Davis quint. Although Davis found a better partner in Wayne Shorter later, Rivers’ playing is bold and fluid, clearly indicating that he was heading in a new direction. Rivers’ playing is influenced by blues musicians like T-Bone Walker who he was recording at the time. He also displayed a unique approach to rhythmic and harmonic harmony, which would be more suitable for the series of recordings that he made as a leader with Blue Note Records. Rivers is most well-known for his ballad, “Beatrice”, which was first released on Fuchsia Swing Song in 1964 by Blue Note Records. It features Tony Williams on drums, Ron Carter and Jaki Byard playing piano. Rivers’ maturation as a musician, bandleader, and composer is evident on this album as well as three others from 1964 to 1967. Since then, “Beatrice” is a jazz standard. It’s one of the tunes jazz musicians learn, memorize, record, and perform. A jazz musician is unlikely to have a piece in the standard repertoire. Most standards are derived from musical theatre of 50s and 60s. Rivers, who was married to Beatrice, opened his rehearsal space in New York in 1970 for musicians, so that they could perform for the public, without worrying about economic issues. Studio Rivbea was the name of this space, which became an iconic incubator for New York City’s avant-garde jazz scene. Wildflowers is an invaluable record of this period, originally released as a five-LP set by Douglas Records in 1976 and reissued in 2000 by Knitting Factory’s Knit Classics series. These recordings capture Rivers and his contemporaries, such as Anthony Braxton and Wadada LeoSmith, looking for the thief voices in the early stages of a musical movement. Rivers recorded four more albums as an Impulse! leader, along with other later albums with ECM and Black Saint. Rivbea.com has a more detailed discography and a biography that includes some personal quotes. Rivers’ later years found him focusing on a few important ensembles including his Rivbea Orchestra, a woodwind group called Winds of Manhattan, the Sam Rivers Trio with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums, and another trio with multi-instrumentalists Doug Mathews and Anthony Cole. Rivers moved to Orlando, Florida in 1990 at the request of local musicians who wanted to perform his compositions for big bands. Rivers said that he was very lucky because he could bring all his music, any composition, to Orlando and the musicians were able to play it right away. It’s an amazing experience for me. Rivers performed with many musicians through his final years. He recorded a notable album with Jason Moran, Black Stars. Rivers will be remembered as an important musician who redefined jazz composition and jazz improvisation, and helped to nurture countless contemporaries. Sam Rivers, 88, died in Orlando from pneumonia on December 26, 2011. He was 88 years of age. from http://jazz.about.com
