sam rivers & roscoe mitchell | performance of may 3, 1975 at michigan state university
PERFORMANCE OF MAY 3, 1975 at Michigan State University
Modern black music is so rarely available outside of a few major cities that it was a distinct shock to learn (almost by accident) that Rivers and Mitchell were to appear in concert at this large university deep in the Michigan hinterlands. Rivers (with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul) and Mitchell (who brought Gary Schunk, piano; Steve Miller, bass; and Randy Gillespie, percussion) were to play two concerts a night Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the kiva (a small circular auditorium in the M.S.U. dormitory complex). We caught the earlier performance on Saturday night, and it was apparent that Mitchell’s group especially (his being less of a working band) had benefited from the extended opportunity to work together.
Mitchell opened his set with “Tutankhamen,” a strutting, heavily syncopated Malachi Favors’ composition. Originally composed as a contrabass solo, the work adapted well to Mitchell’s huge bass sax. There were good sparse solos from Mitchell and Miller (and interesting backgrounds from Schunk employing mallets on the piano strings) before all four returned for a jagged, playful restatement of the theme.
Mitchell’s “For Four Improvisers” was more ambitious. It set up a series of variations built on textural rather than strictly melodic, harmonic or rhythmic material. Although by nature something of a collage of group sounds, Mitchell (on bass and curved soprano saxes) and Schunk appeared to advantage. However, “Carefree” (the last work programmed) was far below the standards Mitchell had set so far. The head sounded like an old Jazz Messengers’ composition (part Latin, part swing), and Mitchell’s decision to allow local trumpeter Raymond Smith to sit in further dragged things down. Smith soloed first, producing a series of flurries and held notes with little relation to the tune or the efforts of the rhythm section. When Mitchell finally took over (picking up a chromatic phrase from Schunk), it was too late to save the work. Schunk, incidentally, was here and elsewhere quite inventive, and his broadly humorous accompaniment was refreshing.
After a brief intermission, Rivers, Holland and Altschul filed out. The contrast was striking - Mitchell’s group was very good, but Rivers’ trio was exceptional. Rivers, who played tenor, piano, flute, and soprano (and sang), is a strong player on all his instruments and much more than that on tenor. In Holland and Altschul he has the ideal accompaniment - players individually as strong and inventive as he is, with the quick reflexes and fertile imaginations to interact with him as equals in a freely and almost totally spontaneous improvised music.
Rivers opened on tenor. It’s impossible to chart the course the music took in a short review such as this, but it was a journey marked by incredible togetherness - Holland and Altschul were always there; a slight change of phrase, a different inflection from Rivers and the group would be off on a different tangent. The high point of the tenor section was for me about midway along when the trio fell into an easy four, much like the medium tempo excursions Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden used to take some fifteen years ago. Rivers was superb here; he worked with a little Parker-like phrase, using the full range of the tenor and all its varied tonal resources to develop an intricate but musical solo.
Rivers’ tenor eventually gave way to a marvelous Holland bass solo, full of fluid, virtuostic lines and double-stops. Rivers then returned on piano. I was impressed with his command of the instrument but disappointed that he only seemed interested in creating a vaguely classical, a-rhythmic texture of dissonant chords. Sam finally moved over to flute, scat-singing a duet with himself at one point. Altschul took over for a relatively brief musical solo that emphasized textures rather than the bombast drummers usually offer. Rivers came back with his hollow-toned soprano, and with some high energy, high speed playing the set was over. The three drew a standing ovation from the crowd.
I suppose Rivers’ trio should be heard in the context of the varied music presented at his Studio Rivbea in New York (by his big band) to be really appreciated. Standing alone, such totally improvised music can come dangerously close to monotony, even with gifted players such as these. Although Rivers’ performance was clearly superior to Mitchell’s, the more compositional approach displayed by Mitchell is, I think, ultimately more rewarding. But Rivers remains one of the best tenor players now working in the music.
David Wild, 1975
Roscoe Mitchell - Full Force [3:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup
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Saturday, March 31st, 2007, 19:55.
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