James Rivers, a multi-instrumentalist fixture of New Orleans nightclubs who was fluent on everything from saxophone and clarinet to bagpipes, died July 5. He was 89.
His saxophone was featured on such classic New Orleans R&B recordings as Al Johnson’s “Carnival Time” and Frankie Ford’s “Sea Cruise.”
His jazz band, the James Rivers Movement, logged countless gigs everywhere from Tyler’s Beer Garden on Magazine Street to Mel’s Lounge in Faubourg Marigny to annual appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival…