Vinyl LP pressing. Saxophonist and flutist Sam Rivers followed-up his striking debut Fuchsia Swing Song with the tremendous album Contours, which was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs, NJ studio in 1965 with a top flight band featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. The quintet explored four of Rivers' engaging original compositions - "Point of Many Returns" "Dance of the Tripedal" "Euterpe" and "Mellifluous Cacophony" - with a profound spirit of freedom and innovation while keeping a foot firmly planted in Post-Bop. Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180gm audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

This CD features Sam Rivers (tenor and soprano saxophones, flute), Adam Rudolph (hand drums, percussion) and Harris Eisenstadt (drum set). Recorded the day before Sam's 80th birthday, "Vista" marks the first time in Sam's extensive, legendary career that he has been part of a trio with two drummers. This unique record showcases the interaction between three generations of creative artists.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. A saxophonist of striking originality, Sam Rivers arrived fully formed on his debut album Fuchsia Swing Song recorded for Blue Note in 1964. Though a strong avant-garde undercurrent flowed through his music, Rivers kept a foot planted firmly in post-bop and the blues on this impressive set of originals including his stunning ballad "Beatrice." This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

After releasing 2 astonishing albums of original material with Fuchsia Swing Song & Contours, saxophonist Sam Rivers went in another direction on A New Conception, a set of standards given riveting interpretations by a quartet featuring Hal Galperon (piano), Herbert Lewis (bass), and Steve Ellington (drums). This stereo Blue Note Tone Poet Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Classical Music

The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, under the direction of Earl Rivers, present a program of choral music for the Christmas season, spotlighting American and European 20th-century composers. Founded in 1979, for over 30 years VAE has brought the power of spectacular, powerful and thrilling choral performances to audiences of all generations. Their mission: Vocal Arts Ensemble is greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble dedicated to presenting passionate and innovative performances of choral music that raise and nurture the public’s appreciation of the life-enriching qualities of the choral arts. Because of the small size of the choir, as well as the distinctive venues chosen each year across the area, VAE is uniquely able to present diverse performances that engage and enchant a range of music lovers. Works presented each season range from emerging composers to the well-loved pieces of the choral canon, and it is this intimate balance of traditional yet innovative programming, as well as the creativity and passion brought to the stage by Johnson that makes VAE so unique. VAE is committed to the presentation and development of modern chamber music, and new works by internationally-known composers are annually premiered through the “Meet the Composer” series. Additional community engagements throughout the year include appearances with the May Festival and collaborations with area arts organizations.

A historically important new release, Sam Rivers Reunion: Live in New York features the reunion of octogenarian saxophonist/flutist/pianist Rivers with his groundbreaking trio of two-time Grammy Award winner Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums. The venerated band was a mainstay at Rivers Studio RivBea the most famous venue during the loft jazz movement of the 1970s and was well-known for it's marathon fully-improvised concerts. Their powerful rapport gives no hint of the fact that they had not played together in 25 years when this concert took place in 2007. In a musical career that spanned more than 50 years, Rivers played with such disparate musicians as Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cecil Taylor. He is best known for his heralded albums on Blue Note and Impulse!, and two Grammy-nominated big band recordings for RCA. The Rivers/Holland/Altschul trio, though revered in jazz circles, recorded rarely, and those out-of-print records are highly sought-after by collectors. Unfortunately, Rivers did not live to see the release of this CD; he passed away on December 26, 2011.