Rivers, Sam: A New Conception (Blue Note Tone Poet) LP

After releasing two astonishing albums of original material with his remarkable debut Fuchsia Swing Song (1964) and the follow-up Contours (1965), multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers went another direction on his third Blue Note album A New Conception (1966) by presenting a set of standards that were given riveting interpretations with a quartet featuring Hal Galper on piano, Herbert Lewis on bass, and Steve Ellington on drums. Despite the well-worn repertoire - including the chestnuts “When I Fall In Love,” “I’ll Never Smile Again,” “Detour Ahead,” and “Secret Love” - Rivers’ striking originality is utterly apparent in each of these seven performances on which he’s heard on tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, and flute.