December's headline death probably is that of the great Cesária Évora , who emerged from the tiny West African island of Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony. But as a soul fan, percussion maestro Ralph MacDonald is my headline departure of the month. He wrote some stone-cold classics and appeared on an impressive catalogue of soul and fusion albums, including those released in their heyday by Bill Withers, George Benson, Donny Hathaway, Ashford & Simpson, Brothers Johnson, Margie Joseph, Patti Austin, Grover Washington, Maynard Ferguson, The Crusaders, Michael Franks, Eric Gale, Bob James, Herbie Mann, [...]
Portrait by SAM RIVERS We had hoped that this would be a celebratory post. Given the passing of Sam Rivers on December 26th, it is necessarily mournful. What started as a jolly contest concludes as a teary memorial. As we work on what we hope will be a fitting tribute to Rivers, and work on coming to grips with this sad news, we nevertheless proceed with the final stages of the giveaway. The Fates have spoken , and the winning number in the Rivers/Mosaic drawing is [...]
Another great gone... Obviously Rivers leaves behind a vast and varied body of work, but don't sleep on his' '90s and '00s bigband recordings, now collected on a 3CD Mosaic Select box .
Filed under: News , R.I.P. Gems, Redferns Sam Rivers , the jazz saxophonist who performed with legends like Miles Davis and Billie Holliday and was highly influential in the avant-garde scene, died on Monday, Dec. 26, from pneumonia in Orlando, Fla . He was 88. Born into a family of musicians, Rivers played piano, soprano saxophone, flute and his main instrument, the tenor saxophone. Influenced by Coleman Hawkins [...]
Here's a track from Sam Rivers' terrific 1978 free jazz album Waves . It's a complete rush of a record, every track seeming to go at full speed. Flux certainly does this, driven by some dexterous bass (or is it cello - it sort of sounds like Dave Holland is playing cello here) and tuba work. Rivers does something remarkable here. It sounds as if he might be laying down some serialist piano lines, taking a bit of the 12-tone theory on board. The difference is, at times these spidery-fast atonal riffs [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] PULSAR Sam Rivers & the RivBea Orchestra Trilogy [Edge] Mosaic : 2011 SR, soprano sax; Jeff Rupert and Chris Charles, alto sax; Charlie DeChant and David Pate, tenor sax; Brian Mackie, baritone sax; Tom Parmenter, Brian Scanlon, Mike Iapichino, and David Jones, trumpet; Keith Oshiro, David Sheffield, and Steve Smith, trombone; Josh Parsons, trombone and tuba; Doug Mathews, bass; Rion Smith, drums. Hot on the heels of our [...]
Originally posted 18 April 2007 SUNDANCE SUBWAY COUPLE ANGEL CHILE Jeanne Lee Conspiracy Earthforms : 1975 JL, voice; Sam Rivers, soprano and tenor sax; Gunter Hampel, flute, piano; Jack Gregg, bass; Steve McCall, drums. "People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring [...]
You know what they say: Haters Gon Hate. Limp Bizkit will carry on regardless, paying no heed to critics, fans, and casual observers alike. If Fred Durst and co. want to part like's it's 2002, then who are we to stop them? Or perhaps more accurately: how could we go about that, even if we [...]
The latest offerings from our store. Special discount for the next two weeks - these gems are only $7.99! First, we're proud to make one of the late Willem Breuker 's most important albums available again. Up until now an LP-only release, this live date finds his big band gleefully incorporating everything from pop standards, light opera, funeral marches, and shoo bop into their freewheeling brand of free jazz. The Kollektief offers both drama and inspired moments of humor, making for enjoyable music that's sheer joy! It puts the ant [...]
BLACK AFRICA - PART 3 Sam Rivers Black Africa! Perugia Horo : 1977 SR, flute, soprano sax, vocals; Joe Daley, tuba and euphonium; Sidney Smart, drums and percussion. This double album is not to be confused with its sister effort Black Africa! Villalago , a single album that's currently available as an import from Amazon . Recorded live at Umbria Jazz in July 1976, Perugia finds Rivers at both [...]
Last June, DownBeat's Frank Hadley invited me to "please list your FIVE most favorite big band albums; and add comments (of any length) about each album" for a piece he was writing for the magazine. That piece has finally gone to press -- it's in the April issue, you can read it here . I was far from the only one Frank contacted -- almost 200 players, composers, educators et al responded to this straw poll, and the results are fascinating. You'd have to expect that Miles & Gil's Porgy and [...]
POLARIZATION>RHYTHM MAGNET>WIND DOLPHIN Julian Priester and Marine Intrustion Polarization ECM : 1977 JP, trombone; Ron Stallings, tenor sax; Ray Obiedo, guitar; Curtis Clark, piano; Heshima Mark Williams, bass; Augusta Lee Collins, drums. In the alternate universe we inhabit when tired or otherwise deranged, there is a trombone hall of fame, presided over by Grachan Moncur III, George Lewis... and Julian Priester. (Albert Mangelsdorff mans the European branch; Roswell Rudd is awaiting his vote.) Priester has an [...]
EARTH SONG SOUND IT OUT Jason Moran Black Stars Blue Note : 2001 JM, piano; Sam Rivers, tenor sax, flute; Tarus Mateen, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums. As an antidote to the recent strain of Jazz is Dead discussions, NPR's A Blog Supreme recently issued this thoughtful invitation - " Which five albums would you pick to get an open-minded listener into the jazz of [...]
Originally posted 24 September 2006 AMBER MAUVE ONYX+TOPAZ Sam Rivers Hues ABC/Impulse : 1975 Amber: SR, tenor sax; Cecil McBee, bass; Norman Connors, drums, percussion. Mauve: SR, tenor sax; Richard Davis, bass, Warren Smith, vibes (?), drums. Onyx+Topaz: SR, soprano sax, flute; Arild Andersen, bass; Barry Altschul, drums. Synesthesia - what colors do [...]
"We decided we were more disgusted and bored with the state of heavy popular music than we were with each other. Regardless of where our separate paths have taken us, we recognize there is a powerful and unique energy with this particular group of people we have not found anywhere else. This is why Limp Bizkit is back. " So suddenly, I have a feeling a bunch of old-school artists are making some sort of a comeback this year... and to a big surprise we have none other than the 5 original [...]
CIRCLES VERVE Sam Rivers Contrasts ECM : 1980 SR, soprano sax, flute; George Lewis, trombone; Dave Holland, bass; Thurman Barker, marimba, drums. Sam Rivers - with crucial assistance from his wife - helped launch and sustain the essential NYC loft scene of the 1970s. Studio RivBea and others provided a critical support system for adventurous acoustic jazz during a lean decade for gigs and [...]
I came across this crazy word "epistrophy" while listening to Frank Lowe's Fresh. Botanically it means recovering of form of anomalies. Epistrophy was also a jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke in 1942 ( wiki ). This word at once reminded me of branches, roots, the mad way they creep - as if a crazy dance which intrigues to creep into your mind and grow inside you. Then only yesterday, quite accidently and luckily I discovered Roots of Madness from a friend. The band was found in 1969 in CA [...]
 AMBER MAUVE ONYX+TOPAZ Sam Rivers Hues ABC/Impulse : 1975 Amber: SR, tenor sax; Cecil McBee, bass; Norman Connors, drums, percussion. Mauve: SR, tenor sax; Richard Davis, bass, Wilbur Smith, vibes (?), drums. Onyx+Topaz: SR, soprano sax, flute; Arild Andersen, bass; Barry Altschul, drums. Synesthesia - what colors do you hear? Vladimir Nabokov talked about certain words and letters evoking [...]
Any Major Dude With Half A Heart
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INDECENT XPOSURE
motel de moka
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Bobby Womack ft. Lana Del Rey – “Dayglo Reflection”
