One of the most important musicians in jazz, Sam Rivers passed away in December 2011 at the age of 88. Live recording of the 2007 reunion concert of Rivers’ groundbreaking trio featuring Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums—the first time they had performed together in over 25 years! A mainstay at Rivers’ Studio RivBea, at the forefront of the “loft jazz” movement of the 1970s, the trio recorded infrequently and their releases are highly sought after by collectors. A member of the Miles Davis Quintet, Rivers also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Cecil Taylor, T-Bone Walker, among many other greats.
A historically important new release, Sam Rivers’ Reunion: Live in New York features the reunion of octogenarian saxophonist/flutist/pianist Rivers with his groundbreaking trio of two-time Grammy Award® winner Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums. The venerated band was a mainstay at Rivers’ Studio RivBea—the most famous venue during the “loft jazz” movement of the 1970s—and was well-known for its marathon fully-improvised concerts. Their powerful rapport gives no hint of the fact that they had not played together in 25 years when this concert took place in 2007.
In a musical career that spanned more than 50 years, Rivers played with such disparate musicians as Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cecil Taylor. He is best known for his heralded albums on Blue Note and Impulse!, and two Grammy®-nominated big band recordings for RCA. The Rivers/Holland/Altschul trio, though revered in jazz circles, recorded rarely, and those out-of-print records are highly sought-after by collectors. Unfortunately, Rivers did not live to see the release of this CD; he passed away on December 26, 2011.