Jazz Archives

Dave Holland's debut as a leader, Conference of the Birds, doesn't seem to get its proper due outside of avant-garde circles; perhaps, when discussing the greats, Holland's name simply doesn't spring to mind as immediately. Whatever the case, Conference of the Birds is one of the all-time avant-garde jazz classics, incorporating a wide spectrum of '60s innovations. Part of the reason it works so well is the one-time-only team-up of two avant-garde legends: the fiery, passionate Sam Rivers and the cerebral Anthony Braxton; they complement and contrast one another in energizing fashion throughout. But much credit is due to Holland; make no mistake, even though he throws the spotlight to Rivers and Braxton, this is his date. The repertoire consists entirely of Holland originals, and his work here established him as easily the most advanced bassist/composer since Charles Mingus. His compositions show an impressive range: twisting, unpredictable themes accompanied by storming solos (the classic "Four Winds," "Interception"); free improvisation in group-dialogue form ("Q&A"); inside/outside avant-bop ("See Saw"); and surprisingly lovely, meditative flute showcases (the classic title track, "Now Here (Nowhere)"). No matter how free things get, Holland's pieces always set up logical frameworks with a clear-minded focus, which makes it easier to get a handle on the advanced musicianship of Holland's quartet (which also includes drummer Barry Altschul, who played in Chick Corea's Circle with Braxton and Holland). The absence of a piano frees up Rivers and Braxton to play off of one another, but the task of driving the ensemble then falls to Holland, and his prominent, muscular lines manage to really push his front line all by themselves. This album is a basic requirement for any avant-garde jazz collection, and it's also one of the most varied and accessible introductions to the style one could hope for.

:::Review by Steve Huey:::

Dave Holland - Conference Of The Birds (1973)

1. Four Winds 6:32
2. Q & A 8:34
3. Conference of the Birds 4:34
4. Interception 8:20
5. Now Here (Nowhere) 4:32
6. See-Saw 6:40

Credits
Anthony Braxton (flute, clarinet, reeds, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone);
Sam Rivers (flute, reeds, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone);
Barry Altschul (marimba, drums, percussion).
Dave Holland (bass)

Recorded in 1964 immediately after leaving the Miles Davis Quintet, Sam Rivers' Fuchsia Swing Song is one of the more auspicious debuts the label released in the mid-'60s. Rivers was a seasoned session player (his excellent work on Larry Young's Into Somethin' is a case in point) and a former member of Herb Pomeroy's Big Band before he went out with Davis. By the time of his debut, Rivers had been deep under the influence of Coltrane and Coleman, but wasn't willing to give up the blues just yet. Hence the sound on Fuchsia Swing Song is one of an artist who is at once very self-assured, and in transition. Using a rhythm section that included Tony Williams (whose Life Time he had guested on), pianist Jaki Byard, and bassist Ron Carter, Rivers took the hard bop and blues of his roots and poured them through the avant-garde colander. Today, players like Joshua Redman, Branford Marsalis, and James Carter do it all the time, but in 1964 it was unheard of. You either played hard bop or free; Davis' entire modal thing hadn't even completely blasted off yet. The title and opening track is a case in point. Rivers opens with an angular figure that is quickly translated by the band into sweeping, bopping blues. Rivers legato is lightning quick and his phrasing touches upon Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Coleman, and Coltrane, but his embouchure is all his. He strikes the balance and then takes off on both sides of the aisle. Byard's comping is actually far more than that, building in rhythmic figures in striated minors just behind the tenor. "Downstairs Blues Upstairs" sounds, initially anyway, like it might have come out of the Davis book so deep is its blue root. But courtesy of Byard and Williams, Rivers goes to the left after only four choruses, moving onto the ledge a bit at a time, running knotty arpeggios through the center of the melody and increasingly bending his notes into succeeding intervals while shifting keys and times signatures. He never goes completely over the edge as he would on his later Blue Note dates. The most difficult cut on the date is "Luminous Monolith," with its swing-like figure introducing the melody. Eight bars in, the syncopation of the rhythm sections begins a stutter stem around the time and then the harmony with Byard building dense chords for Rivers to jump off of. On the Connoisseur Series CD (shame on Blue Note once again for making some of its best outside records "limited editions"; titles like this should be as readily available as Horace Silver's Song for My Father, but the label had been playing it ever so safe for a while and making fans buy the limited number of titles over and again) there are alternate takes of "Luminous Monolith" and three more of "Downstairs Blues Upstairs," making it a very worthwhile look at the entire session. This is a highly recommended date. Rivers never played quite like this again.

:::Review by Thom Jurek:::

Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song (1964) 

1. Fuchsia Swing Song 6:03 

2. Downstairs Blues Upstairs 5:33 

3. Cyclic Episode 6:56 

4. Luminous Monolith 6:30 

5. Beatrice 6:12 6   Ellipsis 7:42

Credits
Bass - Ron Carter
Drums - Anthony Williams
Piano - Jaki Byard
Saxophone [Tenor], Composed By - Sam Rivers

Drummer Tony Williams' first recording as a leader (made when he was 18 and still billed as Anthony Williams) gave him an opportunity to utilize an advanced group of musicians: tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, and both Richard Davis and Gary Peacock on bass. Williams wrote all four of the pieces and has a different combination of players on each song. The freely improvised "Memory" features Hutcherson, Hancock, and Williams in some colorful and at times spacy interplay; "Barb's Song to the Wizard" is a Hancock-Ron Carter duet; "Tomorrow Afternoon" has Rivers, Peacock and Williams in a trio; and all of the musicians (except Hutcherson) are on the sidelong "2 Pieces of One." The unpredictable music holds one's interest; a very strong debut for the masterful drummer.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Tony Williams - Life Time (1964)

1. Two Pieces Of One: Red 8:03
2. Two Pieces Of One: Green 10:36
3. Tomorrow Afternoon 5:31
4. Memory 8:02
5. Barb's Song To The Wizard 5:56

Credits
Artwork By [Cover Design] - Reid Miles
Artwork By [Creaive Director For Rvg Series] - Gordon H Jee
Artwork By [Design For Rvg Series] - Eric Bernhardi , Michael Boland
Bass - Gary Peacock (tracks: 1 to 3) , Richard Davis (2) (tracks: 1, 2) , Ron Carter (tracks: 5)
Drums - Tony Williams (tracks: 1 to 3)
Drums [Drum Set], Percussion [Wood Block], Timpani, Maracas, Triangle - Tony Williams (tracks: 4)
Other [Original Liner Notes] - Lawrence Rutter
Other [Reissue Liner Notes] - Bob Blumenthal
Photography [Cover Photograph, Liner Photographs From The Actual Session] - Francis Wolff
Piano - Herbie Hancock (tracks: 4, 5)
Producer - Alfred Lion
Recorded By, Mastered By [Remastered By] - Rudy Van Gelder
Reissue Producer - Michael Cuscuna
Saxophone [Tenor] - Sam Rivers (tracks: 1 to 3)
Vibraphone, Marimba - Bobby Hutcherson (tracks: 4)
Written-By - Tony Williams

On Contours, his second Blue Note album, tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers fully embraced the avant-garde, but presented his music in a way that wouldn't be upsetting or confusing to hard bop loyalists. Rivers leads a quintet featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Joe Chambers through a set of originals that walk a fine line between probing, contemplative post-bop and densely dissonant avant-jazz. Each musician is able to play the extremes equally well while remaining sensitive to the compositional subtleties. Rarely is Contours anything less than enthralling, and it remains one of the high watermarks of the mid-'60s avant-garde movement.

1. Point Of Many Returns (9:20)

2. Dance Of The Tripedal (10:07)

3. Euterpe (11:43)

4. Mellifluous Cacophony (8:58)

Bass - Ron Carter

Drums - Joe Chambers

Piano - Herbie Hancock

Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Flute, Written-by - Sam Rivers

Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard

Originally released as Blue Note BST 84206, recorded on May 21, 1965