Sam Rivers Ensemble....May 24, 1977 (2 shows)
The Cellar Door, Washington, DC, USA


Sam Rivers - tenor sax, piano, flute
Bobby Battle - drums
Abdul Wadud - cello
Joe Daley - tuba, baritone horn


Taper: bpthree
Taping Gear: Sony TC-1100T with Sony ECM-16 condenser microphone
Lineage: Maxell UD master cassettes> Teac A-550RX cassette playback> TASCAM CDRW-700> Trade CD-R> (wav) EAC (secure mode)> (flac) Trader's Little Helper level 6 (align on sector boundaries)
Quality: vg+
Length: 151:02 minutes
Artwork: none.
Samples: none.


Set List:

Disc One (Time: 71:24m)(First Show):
01. Sax Based Improvisation #1
02. Piano Based Improvisation (cut)(Tape Flip)
03. Piano Based Improvisation (Part 2)

Disc Two (Time 79:38m)(Second Show):
04. Sax Based Improvisation #2
05. Flute Based Improvisation


Taper's Comments:

1 - HELP!! If you have any uncirculated SPIRIT shows, or better quality FM
broadcasts than what's been posted here before, please share them. If you
know anybody who has shows that fit this category that aren't on DIME, please
dub off their stuff and share it. I'm trying to write a book on SPIRIT and need
all the information I can get. I have a database of over 1500 gigs 1967-1996, and
want to find as much information as I can to add to it. If you have any memories
of where you saw SPIRIT, the more specific the better (venue, city, date, supporting
bands, etc.), I'd love to know that as well. Please leave that in the comments
section or PM me. Thank you!

2 - Show description & comments follow:

"The Cellar Door" was a very small, but great room that held about 200 people packed in
like sardines. Years later the DC Fire Marshal's forced to club to reduce their capacity to
about 125 people. The club tried to continue, but financially couldn't do it. I believe today
it houses the offices of CELLAR DOOR PRODUCTIONS, which is or was a major booking
agency, if they are still around. I just read one person call this place "a dive", and it was
nothing like that. If anything, it was more upscale, and there were a lot of business people
in there as well for the shows.

This was the third concert I ever taped. It was something I never would have gone to see
if it hadn't been for my friend Paul, who was a jazz musician. This is Sam Rivers, circa the
New York "loft jazz" scene. I believe Rivers had his own venue in New York called "Studio
RivBea" during this time frame. Paul and I had come to "The Cellar Door" the previous night,
but there had been "transportation problems", and Sam didn't make his scheduled appearance
for his two night stand. Luckily, the group was able to salvage one night, and we returned
the following night.

This is really totally "free form", "avant garde", or whatever you want to call it. I suspect
all these performances were just made up on the spot. During each show, the group would
play an improvisation, take a short break, and then return for another. Sam really showed
his versatility on sax, piano, and flute. We talked to him in between shows, and he was really
nice. Even found out he'd jammed with Jimi Hendrix doing some blues stuff, and that he'd
also previously been in a band with Jimmy Witherspoon. Great stuff! Enjoy!

bpthree


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Prepared by Jeff James (roryglzep@aol.com)