Emergency was a short-lived jazz group centered in Paris in the early 1970s fronted by vanguard sax great
Glenn Spearman. The band's one recording, a live set, was issued on the Parisian America Records label, and is one of those rare gems that not only marks its time and place in the history of the music perfectly, but also transcends it. Certainly this quintet, comprised of two Americans, two Japanese, and a Frenchman, was truly an international ensemble.
Spearman and bassist
Bob Reid were accompanied by pianist Takashi Kako, electric guitarist
Boulou Ferre and drummer Sabu Toyozumi. The four pieces that make up this recording come out of the post-
Coltrane modal aesthetic -- indeed
Spearman and Kako are perfect foils for one another in the same way
Trane and
McCoy Tyner were -- but with the addition of an electric guitarist, moved out into other directions both texturally and harmonically. This set is not jazz-rock, and reflects none of
Miles Davis' innovations, but is instead free jazz that points into the abyss where instrumentation is merely the tool for travel. The "Emergency Theme" is the band's manifesto in that it brings all the dynamic and textural elements into a harmonic caterwaul that is amazingly accessible and taut. Kako's
Tyner-influenced playing offers large spacious chords for
Ferre to feed from and
Spearman takes their root as his cue to explore the outer reaches of his tonal range. The rhythm section never attempts to keep the music centered or grounded but instead pushes the three soloists harder. "People in Sorrow" is a shortened version of the composition by
Roscoe Mitchell of
the Art Ensemble of Chicago and uses the electric guitar as its true mouthpiece as well as a bowed bass by
Reid. "Kako Tune," is a testament to Kako's true knowledge of the music and its history, as well as his inclination to deconstruct the piano's harmonic tropes from
Bill Evans and
Art Tatum through contemporaries like
Bobby Few and
Dave Burrell. The gig closes with
Reid's beautifully cacophonous "Infidels." A true, fiery blowout of honk and skronk,
Spearman observes the dictums of his teacher
Frank Wright, and attempts to turn his horn inside out. This is a must for anyone who is interested in the development of free jazz in the 1970s. ~ Thom Jurek