from the program:
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 @ 7:00pm
Ebenezer Baptist Church
The University of Pittsburgh Library System Welcomes You to the Sam Rivers Concert
Committed to supporting performance and the creative arts as research, the University of Pittsburgh Library System is proud to co- sponsor with Pitt Jazz Studies in the Department of Music, Pitt’s Community Engagement Center (Hill District), and Ebenezer Baptist Church events like tonight’s concert of music from the Sam Rivers Archive. Last year, we acquired the Rivers’s collection which joins our jazz archives of Erroll Garner and Dave Burrell documenting jazz history, performance, and musicians. Just recently, our jazz archives have expanded to include material from Pittsburgh’s own Ahmad Jamal. The thousands of musical scores, recordings, photographs, posters, contracts, and correspondence in these collections comprise a rich resource for researchers interested in the music, personalities, and careers of these world-renowned artists.
Within the University of Pittsburgh Library System, our Archives & Special Collections, Center for American Music, and Theodore M. Finney Music Library work in close collaboration to preserve these collections in our facilities and make them available to students, educators, artists, scholars, and jazz fans from around the world. We hope you will take advantage of these rich resources that are available to you at Pitt and that you enjoy the concert!
We invite you to visit the lobby tonight to see items from our Sam Rivers Archive.
About Sam Carthorne Rivers
Sam Carthorne Rivers was born on September 25, 1923, and grew up in Chicago and Little Rock, Arkansas, studying piano, violin, reeds, and trombone. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he attended the Boston Conservatory (1947–53) and played with Herb Pomeroy, Quincy Jones, Charlie Mariano, and Joe Gordon. From 1955–57 he toured with R&B bands in Florida before returning to Boston in 1958, where he played with Hal Galper and fourteen-year-old drummer Tony Williams.
Rivers moved to New York in 1964 and worked briefly with Miles Davis before signing with Blue Note and releasing his first album Fuchsia Swing Song (1964), which included one of his best-known tunes, “Beatrice,” which he wrote to honor his wife Bea who he had met in Boston. In the years that followed he released Contours (1965), and A New Conception (1966). In the 1960s he also appeared on albums by Tony Williams, Andrew Hill, and Cecil Taylor. During these years Rivers became involved with the free jazz movement and went to great lengths to create a unique sound, including developing his own exercises.
In the 1970s Rivers and his wife, Bea, opened Studio Rivbea in New York, where he taught lessons, conducted workshops, and hosted live performances. Studio Rivbea quickly became one of the most well-known venues for the presentation of new jazz. During this time Sam led multiple groups, including the Harlem Ensemble, the Rivbea Orchestra, a woodwind ensemble called Winds of Change, and a virtuosic trio, all of which he extensively toured with. He also provided the music for two experimental operas, Black Cowboys and Solomon and Sheba, recorded for Impulse! (Streams, 1973) and collaborated with bassist Dave Holland.
Rivbea closed in 1977 due to flooding issues, rising rents, and competing music events. Sam and Bea moved to New Jersey where he intended to set up another rehearsal band. Instead, Dizzie Gillespie invited Sam to join his world tour. After two years of touring with Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, Sam and Bea relocated to Orlando, Florida, in 1991. There, Sam quickly formed a new big band—for which he was composing constantly— and a trio that included Doug Mathews and Anthony Cole. He released several albums with his new groups, including Trilogy, which contained 22 never recorded compositions. Two of the three albums in Trilogy were nominated for Grammy Awards.
Sam’s last gig with the Rivbea Orchestra was on October 22, 2011. Just over two months later, on December 26, 2011, Sam passed away from pneumonia at age 88.
MUSICIANS
RivBea Orchestra Members
Steve Coleman; alto saxophone
Joe Daley; euphonium
Craig Harris; trombone
Doug Mathews; bass
Pitt Community Collaborative Jazz Orchestra
Under the direction of Dr. AJ Johnson
Saxophones Patrick Breiner Tony Campbell Jeff Fabis
Erik Lawrence Ini Oguntola Ben Opie
Trombones Frank Cohen Aaron Johnson Isaac Viars
Jim Weltman
Rhythm
David Adepegba, drums Ryan McMasters, bass Chad Taylor, drums
Trumpets Joe Badaczewski Ethan Barnard Danny Fratina
Ian Gordon
Sam Rivers Archive
The Sam Rivers Archive held by Archives & Special Collections within the University of Pittsburgh Library System is comprised of Rivers’ scores, including all of his numbered charts, unnumbered charts, and his arrangements of other composers’ work. The collection also contains recordings, including Rivers’ commercial releases, non-commercial releases, and never released performances and rehearsals. Other materials include his flute; posters and programs from his performances; photos; newspaper and magazine articles about his work; correspondence and contracts; awards; personal mementos; and art. Rivers’s numbered and unnumbered charts are digitized and available online.
Scan the QR code below to visit the site. We are continuing to digitize selected materials from the archive.
Meet the Musicians
Craig Harris
is a trombonist, composer, bandleader, and gifted sonic shaman. Seeking an inspired career, he skillfully navigated his musical journey that began when touring with the inimitable Sun Ra, onto a path affirming Craig’s place in performance with and among the ranks of creative music’s most progressive thought leaders. With a repertoire of various-sized ensembles, including Nation of Imagination, Tailgater’s Tales and Harlem Nightsongs, Craig has amassed an extensive discography of his own recorded work in addition to contributing to the musical projects of his many esteemed colleagues.
Steeped in the tradition of using art as cultural facilitation to promote change, Craig has flexed his musical voice to comment on social injustice and humanity with influential original works including God’s Trombones, based on James Weldon Johnson’s book of sermons; Souls Within the Veil, commemorating the 100th anniversary of W.E.B. DuBois’s seminal work; TriHarlenium, a sound portrait and 30-year musical time capsule of Harlem; Brown Butterfly, a tribute to the exquisite movements of Muhammad Ali; and BREATHE, a sonic statement in response to the long term and current injustices inflicted upon African American people.
An award-winning prolific composer, Craig’s recent projects include the stage premiere of Craig Harris’ FESTAC ’77, plus Harlem Sonic Communiversity, featuring open rehearsals and free public concerts introducing Craig’s compositions to new and established audiences.
Committed to presenting music in the iconic communities where it was created, Craig’s designation as a Jazz Hero for his long standing curation of Harlem concerts, joins an array of prestigious honors bestowed upon him as artist, and community advocate. Nominated by NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album, Craig is co-composer of the score for the Oscar-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah. Craig’s newest recording, Managing the Mask, was successfully released in 2022.
Doug Mathews
Doug Mathews is an American jazz electric bassist, double bassist, and bass clarinetist, best known for his role in multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers’ trio. Joining Rivers in 1993, shortly after Rivers relocated to Florida with drummer Anthony Cole, Mathews contributed to three albums: Firestorm, Concept, and Caldera. On Concept and Caldera, he showcased his bass clarinet skills, creating a unique woodwind trio alongside Cole on saxophone.
Critically acclaimed by free jazz expert John Sharpe, Mathews’ contributions facilitated vibrant dialogues within the trio, while Orlando Weekly’s Matt Gorney noted their eclectic blend of free bop, funk, ballads, and impressionistic soundscapes. Mathews was also a devoted attendee of concerts by Rivers’ original trio featuring Dave Holland and Barry Altschul.
In 2002, Mathews joined trombonist David Manson’s quintet for the album Fluid Motion, which featured members from the Caldera sessions. He participated in a tribute performance to Jack Kerouac in 2010, alongside notable figures like poet Frank Messina and arranger David Amram. In 2013, he collaborated with guitarist Mary Halvorson and other talented musicians at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Most recently, in 2023, Mathews was a member of the New York All-Star RivBea Orchestra, honoring the legacy of Sam Rivers.
Steve Coleman
Steve Coleman began his musical journey just before his 14th birthday, initially playing the violin before switching to the alto saxophone. He studied music for three years, focusing on improvisation and heavily influenced by Charlie Parker. After transferring from Illinois Wesleyan University to Roosevelt University to immerse himself in Chicago’s vibrant music scene, he gained experience playing at venues and leading a band. However, feeling creatively stifled, Coleman sought inspiration from New York’s renowned musicians and eventually hitchhiked to the city, where he joined the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band.
In New York, he recorded with several influential artists, including the legendary Sam Rivers, whose trio and innovative spirit left a lasting impact on Coleman’s development. He also formed a street band that evolved into Steve Coleman and Five Elements, a group central to his artistic vision. They developed unique improvisational concepts, which Coleman termed M- Base, although he preferred not to label the music itself as such. Throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Coleman expanded his ideas through collaborations and research trips, notably to West Africa, which profoundly influenced his musical philosophy.
His work led to several recordings that marked a transition to a more mature period, including projects that integrated ancient cultural philosophies into his music. Coleman continued to explore global musical traditions, collaborating with musicians from various countries, including Cuba and India. His innovative approach culminated in the development of interactive computer software for music composition.
Joe Daley
Joseph Daley has emerged as one of jazz and contemporary music’s most extraordinary composers and leaders after over 50 years of recognition as one of the consummate sidemen on the adventurous music scene, collaborating with remarkable artists like Sam Rivers, Carla Bley, and Gil Evans. His brilliant 2011 CD, The Seven Deadly Sins, featuring his Earth Tones Ensemble, received rave reviews and made several Best of Year lists, mining a rich vein of musical expression akin to immortals like Charles
Mingus and Duke Ellington.
Daley dedicated his 2015 album, The Tuba Trio Chronicles, to his longtime friend and mentor Sam Rivers, in whose Tuba Trio he performed extensively during the ‘70s and ‘80s. He has received fellowships in music composition from the National Endowment of the Arts and has been commissioned for acclaimed works by various organizations.
Joseph is currently composing new large-scale works for his 75th birthday in 2024. In addition to his orchestral endeavors, he has developed a significant reputation as a leader of smaller ensembles. His increasing prominence in education has made him an in-demand residency director across multiple states. Born in New York City’s Harlem, he began his musical studies early and earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, leading to a dedicated career in education while balancing extensive performance commitments. As he approaches his 75th birthday, plans are underway to celebrate his remarkable journey in music.