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Paragon (Sam Rivers album)

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1977 studio album by Sam Rivers
Paragon
Studio album by Sam Rivers
Released1977
RecordedApril 18, 1977
StudioDavout Studio, Paris
GenreFree jazz
LabelFluid
101
ProducerAlain Wolfson, Christian Besnier
Sam Rivers chronology
Black Africa! Perugia
(1977) 		Paragon
(1977) 		The Tuba Trio Vols. 1-3
(1977)

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.

The trio was active from 1972 until 1978, and was influential in the New York loft jazz scene centered around Rivers' Studio Rivbea. 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. In 2007, the trio reunited and recorded the music that was released in 2012 on the album Reunion: Live in New York. 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Tom Hull – on the WebB+
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz

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."

Track listing

Composed by Sam Rivers.

  1. "Ecstasy" – 5:38
  2. "Bliss" – 6:23
  3. "Rapture" – 5:10
  4. "Tingle" – 7:28
  5. "Paragon" – 12:15

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Ferrier, Rob. "Sam Rivers: Paragon". AllMusic. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. "Sam Rivers - Paragon". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. "Sam Rivers discography". JazzLists.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. Lopez, Rick. "The Sam Rivers Sessionography". Bb10k. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Edwards, Brent Hayes (2012). Reunion: Live in New York (liner notes). Sam Rivers, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul. Pi Recordings. PI45.
  6. ^ "Reunion: Live in New York". Pi Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. "Archive Series Volume 3 - Ricochet". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 1968.
  9. Hull, Tom. "Grade List: Sam Rivers". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  10. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 726.
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