Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song (2023 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series Vinyl LP)

Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song | Vinyl LP - 2023 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g (4859563, Kevin Gray/Cohearent Audio, Optimal Media GmbH)

Sam Rivers grew up in Boston, where he had been playing with the teenage Tony Williams since 1959. When Williams recorded his own Blue Note debut, Life Time, in 1964, he brought Rivers in as a sideman. From there, Rivers appeared on Larry Young's Into Somethin', and Williams also recommended him to Miles Davis for a brief Japanese tour. Miles and Rivers were not a natural fit, but Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Williams all found him extraordinary to play with. When Rivers was offered his own Blue Note date, he called Carter and Williams, both of whom agreed. He also called Jaki Byard, a fellow Bostonian he had known since the late 1940s, who had been working with Charles Mingus since 1962.

Alfred Lion produced; Rudy Van Gelder engineered; Reid Miles designed the cover and took the photographs; Nat Hentoff wrote the liner notes. All six tracks are Rivers originals. "Fuchsia Swing Song" opens the album with a hard bop figure that the band translates into pushing blues. "Downstairs Blues Upstairs" and "Cyclic Episode" develop the same territory. "Luminous Monolith" pushes further toward free playing. "Beatrice," named for Rivers's wife, is the standout ballad — Rivers states the melody directly, Byard and Carter hold the lyricism, and the piece has since been recorded by many other groups. "Elipsis" closes Side B with forward movement. Williams, nineteen years old, plays throughout with the combined precision and looseness that would define his work with Miles.

This Classic Vinyl Series edition was mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media GmbH.