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Sam Rivers's tenor saxophone solo opens the title track of his 1964 Blue Note debut, a recording that announced the arrival of a major new voice in avant-garde jazz. He takes thirteen commanding choruses of the 16-bar form at a blazing 300 BPM in B-flat, an extended tour de force of extended technique and melodic invention. His improvisation ranges from lyrical, blues-inflected passages to angular, harmonically adventurous explorations that push the boundaries of the hard bop tradition. At 40 to 41, Rivers was a late bloomer on record but a fully formed artist, and this extended solo is the first of three on the track, followed by Tony Williams on drums and Jaki Byard on piano.
Sam Rivers was 40 to 41 years old at the time.
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