Sam Rivers

[clifford_thornton]

Streams is a slightly poe faced trio date in Montreux which was briefly on CD.

Poe faced? I like this one - wild stuff.

[Soul Stream]

I'm not really a fan of this album, to my ears Fuscia Swing Song (one of my top 10 Blue Notes for sure) is the ultimate Sam Rivers (just to show you my pretty conservative leanings concerning his output). But basically I just wanted to butt in to say...yeah Cecil McBee is a killer! That BIG FAT TONE!

[Late]

Cecil McBee is a killer! That BIG FAT TONE!

Too bad that tone is reduced to a rubber band in a cardboard box on the RVG (except for the trio track).

[Late]

less than stellar execution

Listening again, I can't disagree with this assessment. But Rivers' and Spaulding's solos save the day.

[Daniel A]

Cecil McBee is a killer! That BIG FAT TONE!

Too bad that tone is reduced to a rubber band in a cardboard box on the RVG (except for the trio track).

It seems that Van Gelder did not always record bassists (or other musicians, for that matter) in the same way. Compare how Ron Carter sounds on earlier Herbie Hancock albums with 'Speak Like a Child', where the bass sounds quite a bit thinner.

[Late]

Indeed — and even more interesting and/or curious is how Van Gelder recorded the same musician across different labels (Blue Note, Prestige, Impulse!, Savoy) with often surprisingly different results. I do understand that he tweaked his recordings per the producer of the label, and this makes for some unexpected discoveries.

[Rooster_Ties]

I think this date is a 'reasonable idea' and less than stellar execution. Nice try, but no cigar. I'd say it remained in the can for all the right reasons.

Ah, but do you think it should have stayed in the can??

[Chuck Nessa]

I think this date is a 'reasonable idea' and less than stellar execution. Nice try, but no cigar. I'd say it remained in the can for all the right reasons.

Ah, but do you think it should have stayed in the can??

Yes. The ongoing lowering of standards is unfortunate.

[Late]

[7/4]

classy shot.

[colinmce]

Date? Looks to be pre-1964, or at least on the dot.

[felser]

I think this date is a 'reasonable idea' and less than stellar execution. Nice try, but no cigar. I'd say it remained in the can for all the right reasons.

Ah, but do you think it should have stayed in the can??

Yes. The ongoing lowering of standards is unfortunate.

But aren't "nice try, but no cigar" sessions often more interesting to hear than a lot of competent "same old, same old"?

[Late]

Here's Sam from 1964:

I always thought Dimensions & Extensions was left "in the can" due to economic, rather than artistic reasons — at least that's what Michael Cuscuna has implied over the years. It was considered releasable enough, at some point, to have Reid Miles create a cover.

In the last ten years, I've gone through the McMaster, Mosaic, and RVG editions of this album. The new Japanese SHM-CD (prefix UCCQ) trumps them all. Excellent sound on that disc.

[jeffcrom]

I just listened to Dimensions & Extensions (from the Mosaic box) for the first time in a while. I had always enjoyed it, but tried to listen more critically tonight. I still enjoyed it - more as the session went on. I see (hear?) where Chuck is coming from - there are some sloppy ensembles, Donald Byrd probably wasn't the best choice for this date, and there are a couple of comparatively weaker tracks , but I overall I find the music exciting and engaging, even if it's not perfect.