Sam Rivers • Fuchsia Swing Song

Review by Thom Jurek
Recorded in 1964 immediately after leaving the Miles Davis Quintet, Sam Rivers' Fuchsia Swing Song is one of the more auspicious debuts the label released in the mid-'60s. Rivers was a seasoned session player (his excellent work on Larry Young's Into Somethin' is a case in point), and a former member of Herb Pomeroy's Big Band before he went out with Davis. By the time of his debut, Rivers had been deep under the influence of Coltrane and Coleman, but wasn't willing to give up the blues. Hence the sound on Fuchsia Swing Song is that of an artist at once self-assured and in transition. Using a rhythm section that included Tony Williams (whose Life Time he had guested on), pianist Jaki Byard, and bassist Ron Carter, Rivers took the hard bop and blues of his roots and poured them through the avant-garde collander. The title, opening track is a case in point. Rivers opens with an angular figure that is quickly translated by the band into sweeping, bopping blues. Rivers legato is lightning quick and his phrasing touches upon Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Coleman, and Coltrane, but his embouchure is his own. He strikes the balance and then takes off on both sides of the aisle. Byard's builds in minor key, rhythmic figures just behind the tenor. "Downstairs Blues Upstairs" sounds, initially anyway, like it might have come out of the Davis book so deep is its blue root. But courtesy of Byard and Williams, Rivers goes to the left after only four choruses, moving onto the ledge a bit at a time, running knotty arpeggios through the center of the melody and increasingly bending his notes into succeeding intervals while shifting keys and times signatures, but he never goes completely over the ledge. The most difficult cut on the date is "Luminous Monolith," showcases a swing-like figure introducing the melody. Eight bars in, the syncopation of the rhythm sections begins to stutter step around the time, as Byard makes harmonic adjustments with dense chords for Rivers to play off. This is a highly recommended date. Other than on 1965's Contours, Rivers never played quite like this again.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/fuchsia-swing-song-mw0000693386

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Reseña de Thom Jurek
Grabado en 1964 inmediatamente después de dejar el Quinteto de Miles Davis, Fuchsia Swing Song de Sam Rivers es uno de los debuts más auspiciosos que el sello editó a mediados de los 60. Rivers era un experimentado músico de sesión (su excelente trabajo en Into Somethin' de Larry Young es un ejemplo), y un antiguo miembro de la Big Band de Herb Pomeroy antes de salir con Davis. En el momento de su debut, Rivers estaba profundamente influenciado por Coltrane y Coleman, pero no estaba dispuesto a abandonar el blues. De ahí que el sonido de Fuchsia Swing Song sea el de un artista a la vez seguro de sí mismo y en transición. Utilizando una sección rítmica que incluía a Tony Williams (en cuyo Life Time había participado como invitado), el pianista Jaki Byard y el bajista Ron Carter, Rivers tomó el hard bop y el blues de sus raíces y los vertió a través del calandria vanguardista. El tema que da título al disco es un ejemplo de ello. Rivers abre con una figura angulosa que la banda traduce rápidamente en un blues arrollador. El legato de Rivers es rápido como un rayo y su fraseo recuerda a Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Coleman y Coltrane, pero su embocadura es propia. Consigue el equilibrio y luego se lanza a ambos lados del pasillo. Byard construye en clave menor, figuras rítmicas justo detrás del tenor. "Downstairs Blues Upstairs" suena, al menos inicialmente, como si hubiera salido del libro de Davis, tan profunda es su raíz azul. Pero por cortesía de Byard y Williams, Rivers se va a la izquierda después de sólo cuatro coros, moviéndose hacia la cornisa un poco a la vez, corriendo arpegios nudosos a través del centro de la melodía y doblando cada vez más sus notas en intervalos sucesivos mientras cambia las claves y las firmas de tiempo, pero nunca va completamente sobre la cornisa. El corte más difícil de la fecha es "Luminous Monolith", que presenta una figura de swing que introduce la melodía. A los ocho compases, la síncopa de las secciones rítmicas comienza a tartamudear alrededor del tiempo, mientras Byard hace ajustes armónicos con acordes densos para que Rivers juegue. Esta es una cita muy recomendable. Aparte de en Contours de 1965, Rivers nunca volvió a tocar así.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/fuchsia-swing-song-mw0000693386

Tracklist:
1 - Fuchsia Swing Song - 6:03
2 - Downstairs Blues Upstairs - 5:33
3 - Cyclic Episode - 6:57
4 - Luminous Monolith - 6:31
5 - Beatrice - 6:13
6 - Ellipsis - 7:43


Credits:
    Bass – Ron Carter
    Drums – Anthony Williams
    Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
    Photography By [Cover Photo], Design – Reid Miles
    Piano – Jaki Byard
    Producer – Alfred Lion
    Tenor Saxophone – Sam Rivers

Notes:
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio: New Jersey on May 21, 1965.

 

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