Paragon | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1977 | |||
Recorded | April 18, 1977 | |||
Studio | Davout Studio, Paris | |||
Genre | Free jazz | |||
Label | Fluid 101 | |||
Producer | Alain Wolfson, Christian Besnier | |||
Sam Rivers chronology | ||||
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Paragon is an album by Sam Rivers on which he is accompanied by double bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul. It was recorded on April 18, 1977, at Davout Studio in Paris, and was released later that year by Fluid Records. In 2015, it was reissued as a digital download by Rivers's RivBea Music. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The trio was active from 1972 until 1978, [5] and was influential in the New York loft jazz scene centered around Rivers' Studio Rivbea. [6] Although the group toured and performed widely, it was not well documented on record, with the exception of this album, plus the Rivers album The Quest (1976) and Holland's Conference of the Birds (1973), which also included Anthony Braxton. [5] In 2007, the trio reunited and recorded the music that was released in 2012 on the album Reunion: Live in New York . [6] In 2020, NoBusiness Records released Ricochet , a live recording of the trio from 1978, as volume 3 of the label's Sam Rivers Archive Series. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ [9] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz | [10] |
In a review for AllMusic, Rob Ferrier called Rivers "a giant thinker," and noted that his trio music is "the core of his musical thought." He wrote: "There aren't many who can hang, even in a supporting role. There certainly isn't room for other soloists. This is sweeping, grand, muscular music, as regular and jagged as a seismograph, or the jittering of a lie detector. Here, he's supported by two men perfectly suited for their roles... Fine musicians, here they are extensions of the music that pours from Rivers." [1]
Composed by Sam Rivers.
Samuel Carthorne Rivers was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica, piano and viola.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
David “Dave” Holland is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States since the early 1970s.
Barry Altschul is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.
The Song of Singing is a studio album by Chick Corea recorded over two days in April 1970 and released Blue Note the following year. The recording features bassist Dave Holland and drummer/percussionist Barry Altschul.
Circle was an American avant garde jazz ensemble, active in 1970 and 1971. The group arose from pianist Chick Corea's early 1970s trio with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums and percussion with the addition of Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments. The group's earliest recordings were made in 1970 for the Blue Note label but not released until 1975 under Corea's name. A live double album appeared on the ECM label in 1972. These recordings document a period in which Corea's work was steeped in the jazz 'avant garde,' prior to his complete shift to the jazz fusion orientation. Corea, Holland and Altschul also recorded the album, A.R.C. for ECM in 1971, but it was not released under the band name Circle.
Conference of the Birds is an album by the Dave Holland Quartet, recorded on 30 November 1972 and released on ECM the following year—Holland's debut as bandleader and fourth project for the label. The quartet features alto saxophonist Anthony Braxton, tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, and percussionist Barry Altschul.
Circling In is a double LP collection by jazz pianist Chick Corea featuring performances recorded between 1968 and 1970, including the first recordings by the group Circle, which was first released on the Blue Note label in 1975. It contains trio performances by Corea with Miroslav Vitouš and Roy Haynes recorded in March 1968, which were later added to the CD reissue of Now He Sings, Now He Sobs as bonus tracks, and performances by permutations of the band Circle recorded in April and July 1970 some of which were later released as Early Circle.
Circulus is a double LP released under jazz pianist Chick Corea’s name, featuring performances recorded in 1970 by the free jazz group Circle, which was first released on the Blue Note label in 1978.
Hues is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers featuring performances recorded between 1971 and 1973 and released on the Impulse! label.
Sizzle is an album by American jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers featuring performances recorded in 1975 and released on the Impulse! label.
A.R.C. is an album by jazz pianist Chick Corea, recorded over three days in January 1971 and released on ECM April later that year. The trio, featuring rhythm section Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, previously worked together on Corea's The Song of Singing, as well as an earlier version of Shorter's “Nefertiti”.
Town Hall 1972 is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1972 at The Town Hall in New York City and originally released on the Japanese Trio label and rereleased on the hatART label as Town Hall 1972 in 1992.
The Montreux/Berlin Concerts is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1975 and 1976 and released on the Arista label. Sides 1-3 were subsequently released on CD as Anthony Braxton Live in 1987 and all tracks were included on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
Dortmund (Quartet) 1976 is a live album by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in Germany in 1976 but not released on the hatART label until 1991. The album was subsequently reissued as Quartet (Dortmund) 1976 in 2001 and in 2019.
Creative Orchestra Music 1976 is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1976 and released on the Arista label. The album was subsequently included on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
Reunion: Live in New York is a live album by the Sam Rivers trio, featuring Rivers on saxophone, flute, and piano, Dave Holland on bass, and Barry Altschul on drums. It was recorded on May 25, 2007, at Columbia University's Miller Theatre in New York City, and was released in 2012 as a double-CD set by Pi Recordings.
The Quest is a live album by Sam Rivers on which he is accompanied by double bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul. It was recorded on March 12 and 13, 1976, during the Rassegna Internazionale Jazz at the Palazzo dello Sport in Milan, Italy, and was initially released later that year by Red Records. It was reissued the following year by Pausa Records, and was also reissued by Fabbri Editori in a variety of forms over the next four years.
Zenith is a live album by the Sam Rivers Quintet, led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Rivers, and featuring tubist and euphonium player Joe Daley, double bassist Dave Holland, and drummers Barry Altschul and Charlie Persip. Consisting of a single 53-minute track, it was recorded on November 6, 1977, at Jazztage Berliner 1977, held at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany, and was released in 2019 by NoBusiness Records as volume 2 of the Sam Rivers Archive Series.
Ricochet is a live album by the Sam Rivers Trio, led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Rivers, and featuring double bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul. Consisting of a single 52-minute track, it was recorded on January 12, 1978, at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, California, and was released in 2020 by NoBusiness Records as volume 3 of the Sam Rivers Archive Series.