Sam Rivers

Oklahoma-born sax giant Sam Rivers started his career on the Boston jazz scene in the late 1940s, playing with Jaki Byard and others. In the mid-'60s he finally broke through as a major player, mostly due to his work with Miles Davis. Besides becoming an in-demand sideman for the likes of Cecil Taylor and Bobby Hutcherson, he began an important solo career that mated an avant-garde free-jazz approach with a more rooted, blues-influenced sensibility. Rivers outlasted many of his peers, and was still active and vital into the 21st century.