Sam Rivers, Veteran Jazz Great, Dies

Jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers, a leading figure during the strikingly innovative post-World War II jazz period, died on Monday from pneumonia, the New York Times has reported. Rivers was 88. A multi-instrumentalist, Rivers zeroed in on the tenor saxophone in the mid ‘40s, and soon became an integral part of the then-thriving Boston jazz scene. During the ‘60s he played with such seminal artists as Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker and Billie Holiday. In the ‘70s, working out of his loft-apartment studio in New York’s East Village, he made a series of albums that solidified his reputation as a central figure in New York’s avant-garde jazz “loft scene.” Later Rivers work extensively with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who had been an early influence. After moving to Florida in the early ‘90s, he performed and recorded with his band, the Rivbea Orchestra, and with small combos. This past year saw the release of a 3-CD set titled Sam Rivers and the Rivbea Orchestra – Trilogy, which features recordings from 2008 and 2009.

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