Frameworks

The history of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble is still full of undocumented lineups, revelations big and small, and other surprises. Case in point: Frameworks, a wonderful collection of previously unavailable recordings released by Emanem in early 2007. The three pieces included feature three different lineups, all improvising collectively from John Stevens' frameworks -- roughly-sketched sequences of events or directives aimed at developing group improvisation. The first lineup is documented here for the first time: Stevens (percussion), Trevor Watts (on bass clarinet instead of his trusty soprano sax), Kenny Wheeler (flugelhorn), Paul Rutherford (trombone), and jazz singer Norma Winstone. Their "Familie Sequence" (33 minutes) from July 1968 is a riveting, slow-churning performance opening on a gagaku-like tutti. Sound quality is surprisingly good for such an old unissued document. The second lineup was previously known, although only from a very badly pressed LP: Stevens, Watts, bassist Ron Herman, and singer Julie Tippetts (also playing an acoustic guitar). Their 30-minute "Quartet Sequence" (April 1971) is simply mesmerizing and stands as one of the SME's best performances by any lineup, period. The sonic similarities between Tippetts' voice and Watts' soprano sax are eerie, sending chills down your spine every time they happen to lock on the same note. Their dialogue steals the show, though Stevens and Herman never quite fall back into a typical rhythm section role. The shorter "Flower" (nine minutes) from October 1973 features the well-documented duo of Stevens and Watts in a performance announcing the heights of their Face to Face CD. However, after the two longer, denser, and voice-led pieces preceding it, "Flower" can't help sound like a footnote. That being said, it is no waste of time either. Frameworks is not very significant on a historical basis, but musically speaking, it ranks among the strongest SME collections, way up there alongside Quintessence. "Quartet Sequence" is alone worth the price of admission. ~ Francois Couture|