Search - Sam Rivers :: Dimensions And Extensions

Sam Rivers' Most Avant-Garde BN Album

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the reissue of "Dimensions & Extensions," three of Sam Rivers' four Blue Note albums are now available domestically on CD. (I personally couldn't have ever imagined this happening when I purchased the Rivers Mosaic Set a dozen years ago.) This March 17, 1967 session is certainly the most avant-garde outing Rivers had for the label, and signaled the tone of later efforts he would make in the 70s for Impulse and ECM. The expanded frontline personnel of James Spaulding, Donald Byrd and Julian Priester, and the pianoless rhythm duo of Cecil McBee and Steve Ellington lay the ground work for this departure. But it is Rivers' increasingly complex original compositions that showcase a new level in his talent. Granted his extreme take on standards on his previous album (the still OOP "A New Conception") was far from run of the mill, but the depth and layering in these tunes compared to Fuchsia Swing Song or Contours (see my reviews) is striking. Fans of the more "eccentric" mid 60s Blue Notes -- Out to Lunch, Dialogue, Point of Departure, Life Time, etc. -- will be delighted with the dimension of this disc!"

GREAT

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 05/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album mixes big band, hard-bop and the avant-gaurde. Sam Rivers mixes the styles quite effectively here.



Most of the tracks here have beginnings--heads, in jazz terms-that run through a lot of chords and substitutions quickly. The players are then off to the races, and the improvosation skill of these soloists in excellent. They never fall into cleches-and neither does the rhythm section-so this music always sounds fresh.



Like many of the other great Blue Note 60s jazz records-Destination Out by Jackie McClean or Evolution by Grechan Moncour--this bypasses the whole mainstreem/out jazz war aside and uses all elements of the music to make a great record.



Critics and marketing people worry about style labals. Great musicians never do.

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Blue Note, put this back out!

footfootvrr | Bigtimore, MD | 01/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an amazing session from 1967. This album provides vigorously engaging textures, shapes, and sounds from beginning to end. The soloing is hot. There's six tracks in all:



Paean / mstr #1858 / tk 10 [5:21]

Precis / mstr #1859 / tk 20 [5:18]

Helix / mstr #1860 / tk 25 [5:29]

Effusive Melange / mstr #1861 / tk 32 [5:47]

Involution / mstr #1862 / tk 33 [7:10]

Afflatus / mstr #1863 / tk 34 [6:25]



Here's the lineup:



Sam Rivers (tenor sax-2,3,4,6; soprano sax-1; flute-5 / Compositions)

James Spaulding (alto sax, flute)

Donald Byrd (trumpet)

Julian Priester (trombone)

Cecil McBee (bass)

Steve Ellington (drums)



If you know anything about mid-sixties jazz, you know that this is an amazing crew. This music means business. Track 2 is a flute bonanza exploratorium and track 5 is a vivid trio incantation. The other tracks have a cleanly articulated, innovative sound, even during the four-horn collective improvisation. If you like Rivers, you need to hear this. If you don't know his work, this is a great start.



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