Sam Rivers: Black Africa! Perugia (1976)
- Details
- Written by T. Rake
When one casts aside the comforts of what is agreed upon collectively for what is known innately, what remains is stripped bare to your voice. With Perugia, Sam Rivers and his trio present a collusion of voices which exist to assure existence. Recorded live in Perugia, Italy, July 25, 1976 this 2xLP waxes melodically at times waning into to polyphonous waves of history.
As the long arc of the spiritual jazz era of the early 70s wrought a determination of a shared freedom in collectivism, shards of individual voices drew breath. Sam Rivers was one such voice. Nearly a decade after his first LP, his determination is a beacon of humanity with intertwining lines moving from tenor to piano to flute and then returns to sax across 4 sides of vinyl.
The improvisations/forms never gain enough certainty to devolve into 'World Music' idioms or relent completely to a free jazz mentality. There is strength in knowing.
The instrumentation is rhythm, harmony and melody. The low end is handled most adeptly by Joe Daley's tuba playing, while Sidney Smart's groove-leaning rhythms teetering between tempus and tempest.
As we give, we leave; as we travel we reside inside other realms of giving. This record wipes away the residue of post-Coltrane excursions and weaves a denim jacket of sound with big zippers.
- Drums, Percussion: Sidney Smart
- Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Piano, Voice: Sam Rivers
- Tuba, Euphonium: Joe Daley
Pairs well with a cold bottle of Peroni Nastro Azzurro and a porcini pizza.