Zenith (album)
| Zenith | ||||
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| Live album by Sam Rivers | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | NoBusiness Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
1 |
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running time |
53:19 |
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| occupation |
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Danas Mikailionis, Ed Hazell |
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Studio (s) |
Berlin Philharmonic |
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Zenith is a jazz album by Sam Rivers . The recordings made on November 6, 1977 in the Berlin Philharmonic during the Berlin Jazz Days were released in November 2019 on NoBusiness Records , as the second episode of the Sam Rivers Archive Project .
background
In addition to releasing his regular albums, Sam Rivers took on the task of documenting much of his work on tape. Zenith is the second episode (after Emanation (2019), with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Norman Connors ) in an eight-issue series produced by archivist Ed Hazell and label owner Danas Mikailionis.
Bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul were colleagues from Rivers who went back to the musician's central album project at ECM , Conference of the Birds . Tubist Joe Daley was a recent member of Rivers at the time, playing and touring in a number of its ensembles. The experienced drummer Charlie Persip expanded the band to a quintet in addition to Altschul with a second drum kit.
A single, uninterrupted improvisation performed in Berlin, "Universal Message", follows Rivers' then usual framework of episodic sections, which are arranged around his four main instruments, tenor saxophone, flute, piano and soprano saxophone. Sections for the other players are also embedded in it.
Track list
- Sam Rivers Quintet - Zenith (NoBusiness NBCD 124, Sam Rivers Archive Project Volume 2)
- Universal Message (Rivers)
reception
Olie Brice wrote in London Jazz News that Sam Rivers had an incredibly broad conception of improvised music. At the same time he was only three years younger than Charlie Parker was a master of tradition and cutting edge innovator, on the one hand, under the direction of in bands Miles Davis feeling well and played on the other hand completely free and with European free improvisation musicians such as Alexander von Schlippenbach worked . His free music as a band leader has always been unusual in integrating swing, grooves and abstraction into a completely organic flow. This album is a prime example of this - five great improvisers develop a constantly changing piece of music without restrictions on genres.
John Sharpe wrote in All About Jazz , even if this line-up seemed unique, it made them a fully integrated unit. More than a match for those released during this period, the album is recommended to anyone curious about Rivers' legacy.
According to Derek Taylor, who reviewed the album in Dusted, the recording was clear and crisp for a nearly 33-year-old band, with solid spatial depth and balance between the players.
Jan Grandlie (Salt Peanuts) said that the NoBusiness label has released another gem of an archive recording with saxophonist Sam Rivers. "This is an exciting, creative and interesting recording with an original team of musicians, with whom Dave Holland in particular impresses with his dense and fine bass playing".
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Derek Taylor: Sam Rivers - Zenith (No Business). Dusted, January 20, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 .
- ↑ Sam Rivers Quintet - Zenith at Discogs
- ↑ Olie Brice: Sam Rivers Quintet - “Zenith”. London Jazz News, April 25, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 .
- ↑ John Sharpe: Sam Rivers Quintet: Zenith. All About Jazz, January 4, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 .
- ↑ Sam Rivers - Zenith (No Business). Salt Peanuts, May 6, 2019, accessed April 7, 2020 .