«In this decade of revolutionary change, too little notice has been given to the new generation of musicians which has quietly but effectively been mastering the bop and post bop idioms. It is a generation which, if it cannot quite accurately be described as avant gard, is reaching toward goals not too far removed from those sought by the revolutionaries. This goals, whether approached by traditionalists or iconoclasts, center around (1) the development of a vocabulary of sound devices ranging from a nearly human, vocalized expression ( a contemporary manifestation of the jazz «cry» ) to noise effects not unlike those produced by oscillators, filters, and other electronic instruments, (2) the discovery of form-producing procedures and structures that offer provocative musical alternatives to recurrent chord patterns, (3) rhythmical freedom, either through liberated, near-anarchistic rhythms or, conversely, from a highly sophisticated use of traditional, pulsating jazz swing.»
Don Heckman on the original liner notes «Contours» Sam Rivers 1965
Ken Vandermark - b-flat clarinet, tenor sax, baritone sax. Mats Gustafsson - tenor sax, baritone sax. Peter Brotzmann - a-clarinet, tarogato, alto sax, tenor sax, bass sax.