unlike ‘bpthree’, our otherwise unknown taper, i went to d.c. space a lot. in retrospect, it wasn’t perhaps the “best” venue, but boy did it have great shows… which is really what it’s all about.
sam rivers & dave holland
d.c. space
washington, dc
24 june 1978 (two shows)
sam rivers – sax, flute & piano
dave holland – stand-up bass
disc one (time: 58:09m)(first show; 9pm):
01. improvisation # 1 (tape flip)
02. improvisation # 1 (part two)
disc two (time: 61:45m)(second show; 11pm):
01. improvisation # 2 (tape flip)
02. improvisation # 2 (part two)
03. audience
tt 119:54 minutes
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+ (please read my notes)
taper’s comments
this was the only time i went to “d.c. space”, which was essentially a row home.
they had a restaurant or bar downstairs, and the upstairs was used for the
performances. none of the instruments were mic’d, so it was like you were sitting
in your living room, and the guys came in to play for you. they did have a p.a. for
announcements, and that was it. while the sound was good, you also unfortunately
pick up other noises that would have been drowned out if the instruments had been
amplified. this includes my camera shutter, and some odd noise, especially on the
second show, that sounds like a minor loose connection, or something rubbing against the
mic. it’s not horrible by any means, but it is noticeable. i seem to remember there was
little or no seating, and my friend paul and i sat on the floor in front of sam & dave
(no relation to the great soul band!).
this was the last time i saw sam rivers, but i’m glad to hear he’s still going strong today.
like my posting of sam’s show at “the cellar door” from 1977 (torrent # 281440), this
one is “free form”, “avant garde”, or whatever you want to call it. i assume these
performances were just improvisations made up on the spot. dave holland also played
his bass with a bow, so if you hear sections that sound like a cello, that’s why. enjoy!
bpthree
sample: t02.mp3
download: Sam Rivers_DaveHolland_1978-06-24_dc_space_WashingtonDC.zip
cover by pete, using a modified photo (photo page is here) from the d.c. space photo gallery website. used without permission.
i was just trolling through the hard drive looking for something that didn’t look familiar (it’s been a good day), and saw a big bunch of sam rivers shows. remember: i’m not mr. memory. so it was “sam who? and why do i have so many?” curiously, i definitely disliked the first two that i sampled. but number three…