Sam Rivers at the Peabody Institute 4/1/05

I went to work at my usual time Friday, and checking my voice mail messages, a friend had called and said that Sam Rivers was going to play at the Peabody Institute that night! I called back and said heel yes, let's try to makeit -- so we leave around 5:30, snarled in the rush hour traffic on I-95, my friend on the cell, calling to see if we can still get tickets, yes there are, we nab em, and manage to squeak into Baltimore with minutes to spare before the show began. Apparently the Peabody has a Jazz program -- relatively new, with a big band. They had Cecil Taylor some years ago, but this was an event -- Sam Rivers! Of the Blue Note era, with classic albums like Fuscia Swing Song, Contours, to the Impulse era, Hues, Sizzle, Crystals, to COnference of the Birds with Dave Holland, to the RCA All Star Big Band recordings of several years ago. With longtime bandmates Doug Mathews and Anthony Cole, the trio performed one set, doing improvisations (Sam didn't really announce the titles as much as mumble them, and even then he said they were making it up as they were going along), and of course, Beatrice. The second set was with the Peabody Band, a collection of students from the school that only had a few days' preparation with the trio to execute very difficult arrangements. And as true to the high quality and talent of the students, they pulled it off very well! I can't say enough about the playing of Sam and his group -- they just know how to play off of each other, and they still have fun while firing off some highly complicated and intricate tunes. While Rivers may not have had the fame and attention like Coltrane, Rollins, or even Wayne Shorter, he has had a solid musical career with no loss in direction or musical inventiveness. All three musicians play different instruments -- Mathews mostly bass instruments, baritone sax, electic bass, upright bass, etc. Cole plays tenor sax, as well as piano. And Rivers does tenor, soprano, flute, and piano with equal skill. The auditorium was medium sized yet intimate -- I overheard the sound engineer saying to tsomeone that it used to be a rehersal room, but by accident they discovered that it was great for playing jazz, as the other concert rooms distorted the sound too much. It was sold out, though as is the case, anyone who had come to hear some jazz, and not Sam Rivers, were gone by intermission. Forutnately, it was still crowded. I only wish DC was more in tune to events in Baltimore, as we just don't have a clue, or the venues, to hear talents of this high caliber play. But for last night, at 82, Sam Rivers can still kick out the jams and put out quality music. Amazing!