Reunion: Live In New York (2CD)

A historically important new release, Sam Rivers Reunion: Live in New York features the reunion of octogenarian saxophonist/flutist/pianist Rivers with his groundbreaking trio of two-time Grammy Award winner Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums. The venerated band was a mainstay at Rivers Studio RivBea the most famous venue during the loft jazz movement of the 1970s and was well-known for it's marathon fully-improvised concerts. Their powerful rapport gives no hint of the fact that they had not played together in 25 years when this concert took place in 2007. In a musical career that spanned more than 50 years, Rivers played with such disparate musicians as Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cecil Taylor. He is best known for his heralded albums on Blue Note and Impulse!, and two Grammy-nominated big band recordings for RCA. The Rivers/Holland/Altschul trio, though revered in jazz circles, recorded rarely, and those out-of-print records are highly sought-after by collectors. Unfortunately, Rivers did not live to see the release of this CD; he passed away on December 26, 2011.