Sam Rivers
Tenor Sax Solo on
Beatrice

About

Sam Rivers's tenor saxophone solo opens the improvisation on "Beatrice," one of his most enduring compositions and a tune that has since become a jazz standard. He takes three choruses of the 16-bar form at 123 BPM in F with a swing feel, his playing carrying the hauntingly beautiful character of the melody into the improvisation. The medium tempo and compact 16-bar form create an intimate setting that suits Rivers's lyrical side, a contrast to the more intense explorations found elsewhere on the 1964 Fuchsia Swing Song album. He is the first of three soloists, followed by Jaki Byard on piano and Ron Carter on acoustic bass.

Sam Rivers was 40 to 41 years old at the time.