SAM RIVERS – The Complete Blue Note Sam Rivers Sessions (1999) 3xCD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

From the time of his first Blue Note recording in 1964 to his final session for the label in 1967, Sam Rivers made stunning progress as an avant-garde innovator. Starting with an inside/outside hard bop foundation, Rivers quickly took his music as far out as he could while maintaining a recognizable structure; his work fearlessly explored wildly dissonant harmonies and atonality, dense group interaction, cerebral rumination, and passionately intense, free-leaning solos. The Complete Blue Note Sam Rivers Sessions traces that development chronologically (and flawlessly) over the course of three discs, including the entirety of his four albums as a leader: the relatively straightforward Fuschia Swing Song [sic], the avant-bop masterpiece Contours, the radical standards album A New Conception, and the galvanizing, brilliant avant-garde classic Dimensions and Extensions (which also comprised Rivers' half of the split double-LP Involution with Andrew Hill). Five alternate takes are also added to the program, including three of "Downstairs Blues Upstairs." What amazes just as much as Rivers' imaginative originality is how consistently rewarding all three discs are. Rivers may not be quite as much a household name as some of his equally forward-thinking peers, but any jazz fan remotely interested in the avant-garde should know that this set constitutes some of the finest avant-garde jazz Blue Note ever released -- the music here should be considered a cornerstone of any self-respecting avant-garde collection. [As of early 2002, the set was very close to going out of print, a real shame since at the time it was the only form in which any of Rivers' Blue Note recordings were available.] Steve Huey  

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

1-1 Fuschia Swing Song 6:00
1-2 Cyclic Episode 6:55
1-3 Luminous Monolith 6:28
1-4 Luminous Monolith (Alt Tk) 6:36
1-5 Ellipsis 7:39
1-6 Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Alt Tk 1) 8:06
1-7 Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Alt Tk 2) 7:44
1-8 Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Alt Tk 3) 7:46
1-9 Downstairs Blues Upstairs 5:31
1-10 Beatrice 6:10

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

2-1 Point Of Many Returns 9:18
2-2 Dance Of The Tripedal 10:06
2-3 Mellifluous Cacophony 8:57
2-4 Euterpe 11:42
2-5 Mellifluous Cacophony (Alt Tk) 9:00
2-6 I'll Never Smile Again 5:55
2-7 That's All 5:37
2-8 When I Fall In Love 5:48

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

3-1 What A Difference A Day Makes 6:17
3-2 Detour Ahead 5:08
3-3 Temptation 7:36
3-4 Secret Love 7:31
3-5 Paean 5:21
3-6 Precis 5:18
3-7 Helix 5:29
3-8 Effusive Melange 5:47
3-9 Involution 7:10
3-10 Afflatus 6:25

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

Alto Saxophone, Flute 

– James Spaulding (tracks: 3-5 to 3-10)

Bass – Cecil McBee (tracks: 3-5 to 3-10), 

Herbie Lewis (tracks: 2-6 to 3-4), 

Ron Carter (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)

Drums – Anthony Williams (tracks: 1-1 to 1-10), 

Joe Chambers (tracks: 2-1 to 2-5), 

Steve Ellington (tracks: 2-6 to 3-10)

Piano – Hal Galper (tracks: 2-6 to 3-4), 

Herbie Hancock (tracks: 2-1 to 2-5), 

Jaki Byard (tracks: 1-1 to 1-10)

Soprano Saxophone, Flute 

– Sam Rivers (tracks: 2-1 to 3-10)

Tenor Saxophone – Sam Rivers

Trombone – Julian Priester (tracks: 3-5 to 3-10)

Trumpet – Donald Byrd (tracks: 3-5 to 3-10), 

Freddie Hubbard (tracks: 2-1 to 2-5)