Inspiration

Sam Rivers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1999)
• Original Release Date: July 13, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000JJJ1
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,520 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Vines

2. Nebula

3. Beatrice

4. Inspiration

5. Solace

6. Whirlwind

7. Rejuvenation

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Inspiration is a perfect title for this session from jazz veteran Sam Rivers. Having earned his chops playing with everyone from Miles Davis to Cecil Taylor, Rivers in the 1960s was both a consummate explorer and a creator of spectacular melodies. Here he goes full-tilt in the explorative direction, with a stellar orchestra of guiding jazz lights navigating Rivers's heated, improvisationally energetic compositions--each of them bristling with intensity. And his "Beatrice" is a lovely, decades-old dedication to his wife, a piece that flows from the heart brilliantly. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com

You might expect a big band led by a man born in the beginnings of the Swing Era to show some allegiance to that music. And Sam Rivers's Rivbea All-Star Orchestra does swing, but not with the usual conventions of the big band. Rivers's orchestrations are not based on cross-section writing and call and response, but on blocks and clusters of sound, which he sometimes moves in masses, sometimes in riff form, sometimes in collective bursts of free improvisations and long stretches for solo improvisation. There is a restlessness and tension about his writing that suggests an expansion of the small groups Rivers led in the lofts in New York in the 1970s. This one, too, is a New York band, with solos by trombonists Ray Anderson, Art Baron, and Joseph Bowie; trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Ralph Alessi; Bob Stewart on tuba; and saxophonists Greg Osby, Chico Freeman, Gary Thomas, Hamiet Bluiett, and especially Steve Coleman, among others. And Rivers himself is featured on soprano and tenor, sounding as fresh as ever. This is music of inclusion and openness, and represents a genuine contribution to big-band tradition--a tradition that is by no means completed. --John F. Szwed

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Sam Rivers writing can be heard by all, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inspiration (Audio CD)

It is about time someone recorded Sam River's big band compositions. The music here is exciting, the performances solid, and the personnel first rate. The music lives up to Sam River's stature as one of the few great masters of the music.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz at its best, December 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inspiration (Audio CD)

Thankfully, in a music scene dominated by regurgitations of the past of which are hailed as brilliant artistic accomplishments, Sam Rivers has raised the bar and shows us the music can be fresh, exciting, and innovative.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can only give it 5 stars?, February 27, 2000

By 

Rick Mathis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inspiration (Audio CD)

I am a very fortunate man. Why? Is it because I have finally found a pair of shorts that don't ride up? No, no, no. It's because I live in the same town as Sam Rivers. I have had the great oppotunity to see Mr. Rivers on several occasions both with his regular trio and in various big band outtings. The big band groups have always held special status for me. I have never seen a musician "play" a group the way Sam Rivers does. He has the extraordinary gift of being able to pull the most amazing performaces from the other players. His own playing is always astounding, ranging from brash to playfull. What, you ask, is all the big hooplah about? Grab this disc and find out. Be warned though, if your idea of "jazz" is John Tesh, you're in for a rude awakening. This music will grab you by the collar and not let go! So, bring your ears. You'll be glad you did.