Records

John Coltrane & Sam Rivers
John Coltrane, Alternate Takes, Atlantic SD 1688; Sam Rivers, Hues, Impulse ASD9302

At times a jazz musician's world must seem like one enormous Oval Office. Every time he opens his instrument case technicians scramble for their tape machines endeavoring to capture every stray sound with the hope that someday these sounds will prove valuable. Apparently jazz's someday has arrived as evidenced by the flood or previously un-released recordings like the latest in a long line of posthumous Coltrane albums, Alternate Takes and a series of live, as Impulse puts it "amazing" trio performances led by Sam Rivers, Hues.
Alternate Takes consists primarily of just that, alternate versions of early (1959-60) Coltrane tunes that for some reason or other never made it from the can onto vinyl. These are the takes where Coltrane tried out ideas that we have up until now known only in their solidified form- the recordings of "Body and Soul," "Syeeda's Song Flute," and "Cousin Mary" among others. In many ways these alternate versions are more exciting than the originals for instance, "Countdown" which here receives a wildly exploratory 4:33 treatment, nearly twice as long as the more streamlined original. The first three tracks-"Giant Steps," "Naima," and "Like Sonny" are more than alternate takes. They constitute an entire unreleased session with some different sidemen-Cedar Walton, and Lex Humphries-than the released versions of these classics. "Like Sonny" gets an especially good treatment, showing the kind of modal improvisation that made Coltrane infamous in 1959 and famous today.
The most overwhelming feature of this album, like all Coltrane albums, is the sound of his tenor saxophone. That solid sound- from hard blast to quivering vibrato- coupled with rare improvisational genius has endeared John Coltrane to more than fifteen years of jazz lovers. Alternate Takes however, is much more than a museum relic and should be heard by both veterans and "greenhorns" alike.
Don't make the mistake of putting on Sam Rivers' Hues immediately after Alternate Takes or you're likely to find yourself blown out onto the pavement. Rivers starts his solos at the point where most players climax. The trio format of this album finds him soloing almost continually, throwing out old ideas and inventing new ones with lightning speed. The assistance of first rate sidemen-Cecil McBee, Richard Davis, bassists; Norman Connors, and Barry Altschul, drums - keeps the texture from thinning out into fragmentation. All of the tunes contain at least one readily accesible element, a Latin rhythm or swing riff, over which the musicians can solo freely without endangering overall coherency.
These 10 recordings made between 1971-73 feature Rivers on a variety of instruments-tenor and soprano sax, flute, and piano. In "Mauve" (recorded at Oakland U.) Rivers' rippling tenor lines mingle with Davis' bowed bass lending an eery quality to the most free form track on the album. Rivers' soprano work shows the same agility but is carried by a very cold, nasal tone.
The piano numbers like "Ivory Black," because of the harmonic nature of the instrument, demonstrates the compositional genius that produced Crystals (Impulse ASD9286). Unfortunately several of these cuts seem to be excerpts of larger performances which fade out in somewhat unnatural, often annoying places.
Both Hues and Alternate Takes are valuable releases, for in a market inundated by glossy finished products they give us a behind-the-scenes look at jazz in its exploratory stages- the liver performance and alternate take. Moreover, Rivers and Coltrane are two of a handful whose every musical utterance is worth preserving.
-Brad Smith