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Sam Rivers - sax - piano - flute
Doug Matthews - bass - bass clarinet
Anthony Cole - drums - piano - sax
Few, if any, free jazz saxophonists have approached music with the same degree of intellectual rigor as Sam Rivers; just as few have managed to maintain a high level of creativity over a long life. Rivers plays with remarkable technical precision and a manifest knowledge of his materials. His sound is hard and extraordinarily well-centered, his articulation sharp, and his command of the tenor saxophone complete. Rivers' playing sometimes has an unremitting seriousness that can be extremely demanding, even off-putting. Nevertheless, the depth of his artistry is considerable. Rivers is as substantial a player as avant-garde jazz has produced.
Sam is one of the major figures in contemporary American music, an authentic jazz original. A prolific composer of songs and melodies, compositions for Jazz Orchestra, Ensembles large and small, Jazz Opera and Symphony Orchestra. A true multi-instrumentalist equally proficient on Tenor and Soprano saxophone, flute and piano.
This critically acclaimed live release captures Sam with his trio at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles.