Newspaper Page Text
he Augusta News-Review - November 27, 1975 -
Playin’
The Changes
Ry Stan Raines
Sam Rivers:
My Day Is What I Play
Recogpition has taken it’s
time catching up with Sam
Rivers, the
reedman/composer/arranger.
As you read this column many
of you will be introduced to
Sam Rivers for the first time.
Others will recall this fantastic
musician as one deserving for
too long, the recognition that
he’s finally receiving.
Sam Rivers was bom on
Sept 25, 1930 in Reno City,
Ok. His father was a graduate
of Fisk University and was a
veteran member of the Fisk
Jubilee Singers and the
Silvertone Quartet. His mother
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Br ■ h
v I ' : X - *
,• i
S' ,
was a graduate of Howard
University and the two of them
traveled around the country
with gospel shows. These
shows were very popular then
as they are today and as a
result of their busy schedule ...
Sam was born while they were
on the road. His grandfather
was a minister and a musician
and published a book in
Cincinnati in 1882, a
remarkable feat for a Black
man at that time. Chances are
that you might find the book
even today at some of the
older libraries. The book, “A
Collection of Revival Hymns
Page 2
And Plantation Melodies” was
written by Marshall W. Taylor
who was in addition to being a
minister and musician, Sam
Rivers’ grandfather.
His two sisters also were
musicians, as were his parents.
In fact everyone in Sam’s
family were musicians - aunts,
uncles and cousins. Some were
doctors and lawyers as well. If
you will look back into time
surely you will feel that this
was quite an achievement for
any Black family to be college
graduates in the thirties. Sam’s
father was killed in an
automobile accident in 1937.
His mother then took a job at
Shorter College in North Little
Rock, Ark. So Sam grew up
around campus. He liked music
and he listened to every
musician that he had an
opportunity to hear -training
his ear to mentally record
those runs and tunes he was
most interested in. Little Rock
had a sizable Black community
and therefore all of the best
Black groups came there.
Sam took up the trombone
at age eleven and switched to
tenor saxophone two years
later. He worked at perfecting
his “sax” playing for a long
time and didn’t play his first
professional “gig” until he was
a Navy recruit in California. He
got a job with blues singer
Jimmy Witherspoon. He liked
the blues and later worked
with T-Bone Walker, but
slowly changed his style
somewhat to a modem bines
oriented Attack
He heard his first Dizzy
Gillespie and Charlie Parker
records while he was in
California. In 1947 he moved
to Boston with his brother,
bassist Martin Rivers. There
Sam attended the Boston
Conservatory of Music while
working with the local bands at
night. Being in Boston was
good for him as here he got the
chance to play with Serge
Chaloff (The legendary
baritone saxophonist) and Nat
Pierce, pianist/arranger for
Woody Herman.
During the fifties, he worked
in Florida with rhythm and
blues saxophonist Don
Wilkerson. There he also
played a short tour with Billy
Holiday.
As most famous musicians,
he too was instrumental in
shaping the future of amteurs,
because one night in 1959, he
allowed a drummer named
Tony Williams to sit in. Tony
was 13 years old at that time
and impressed everyone. This is
interesting as I would think
that he has been playing all his
life - this though would be
almost correct as he started at
age 3. Hopefully, someday I
might be able to write about
him. Anyway, Tony Williams
never forgot Sam Rivers and
thus while in the middle of a
tour with T-Bone Walker, Sam
received a telegram from Tony
who was in New York working
with Miles Davis. “Come to
New York,” the message
began, “Geoige Coleman has
split and Miles wants you to
join the group.” (Tony had
played tapes of Rivers’ former
group and Miles liked what he
heard). He stayed with Miles
for six months which included
a tour of Japan.
Rivers still trying to do his
own thing developed long solos
and Miles didn’t 'really want
this so when he returned from
the tour of Japan Miles found
and hired Wayne Shorter in
New York. Wayne Shorter
liked Sam’s playing and so the
two of them would often get
together and fool around. At
this point Rivers’ playing
begun to be documented as he
and Shorter recorded an LP
together in August 1965. You
could see here that they were
two different people destined
to go their separate ways with
each knowing that the other
would succeed in the world of
music. Lookin’ for a new
musical experience?? or want
to once again enjoy an old
one?? Then listen to Sam
Rivers... He is much too much.
The Critic’s Corner
-
By Stan Raines
The Saint Louis Jazz
Quartet appeared here last
week at the Carter Gymnasium
of Paine College. The concert
which lasted about two hours
left a lot to be desired.
Os the five original members
publicized to be with the
group, only two Terry
Kippenburger, the bassist, and
Willie Akins, the saxophonist
appeared.
The featured attraction,
Jeane Trevor, a vocalist who
uses her voice to imitate
musical instruments, was
replaced by Asa Harris, a
promising female vocalist with
a rich voice that contains
almost no vibrato. However,
she did not imitate any of the
musical instruments to any
large degree. She did imitate
the saxophone pa? 4 in the first
four to six ba of Tuxedo
Junction and about the same
number of bars in the ending
of the tune. I feel that she
indeed does have a great deal
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SOUL TRAIN - “SOUL TRAIN’’ host Don Cornelius (right) prepares to interview
drummer Harold Brown, as the nationally-syndicated television program features
United Artists Records’ soulful giant WAR, performing live in the studio. The show,
which also showcases the Main Ingredient, will be shown in this area. Check local
listings for time and station.
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THE SAINT LOUIS JAZZ QUARTET
of potential and with enough
oractice she might become a
known vocalist in the future.
The entire performance was
overshadowed by the drummer
who played much too loud for
the size of the group and the
acoustics of the building. He,
however, was a very technical
drummer and he, too, had a
great deal of potential. He lost
the beat at one time in Ramsey
Lewis’ Sun Goddess.
The pianist who was also
new to the group was
noticeably unreheased in some
of the tunes and had to lay out
on several passages. In some of
the tunes (in which he could be
heard) the the chord changes
were not harmonic with the
vocalist.
Kippenburger, the original
bassist could hardly be heard
on string bass or even the
electric bass due to
overshadowing by the
drummer. However, he did use
the bow quite well in the tune
in which he could be heard. His
notes were rich and harmonic.
The guitarist lacked
confidence, he, too, was a new
member of the group. This lack
of confidence, showed as he
played single note runs, but he
played very good chords and
Wes Mongomery style changes.
The saxophonist, Willie
Akins, one of the original five
played real well on soprano
sax. His executions were well
reheased and his soprano tone
was superb. He also played
good tenor sax but to a lesser ‘
degree. The Paine gym was a
- location for this type of
affair due to the accoustics. .
While accoustically sound for
the screams and yells of ’I
cheering spectators or
cheerleaders, the Paine
gymnasium is not accoustically
good for vocal or instrumental
music. The program was
attended by a very small crowd
and of these only a few
remained until the end of the
program.
Library
Story
Hours
Weekly Story Hours for
children are conducted by the
Augusta Library. The program,
which inchides a story, a film
and talks about books for
various ages and interests, will
be held at the Maxwell Branch,
1927 Lumpkin Rd., on
Wednesday, at 4 p.m.
PROGRAMS FOR
PRE-SCHOOLERS
Programs are planned for
pre-school children who are old
enough to enjoy books. The
“Picture Book Half-Hour” at
the Main Library, 902 Greene
St., will be held on Thursday at
10 a.m. A Pre-School Story
Hour will be held at the
Appleby Branch, 2260 Walton
Way, on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Pre-School Story Hours at the
Wallace Branch, 1237
Gwinnett St., are scheduled on
Monday through Friday at
10:30 and 11 a.m.
TV STORY HOURS
The Children’s Department
of the Augusta-Richmond
County Public Library, id
cooperation with the television
studios of Trinity-on-the-Hill
United Methodist Church,
presents story hours on
Channel 5, Augusta, on
Sundays at 6:30 p.m.,
Tuesdays at 11 a.m. and
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and on
Channel 9, North Augusta, on
Sundays at 2 p.m. and
Saturdays at 6:30 p.m.