Bare Essentials

If you look at the Spontaneous Music Ensemble's whole discography, you will see a lot more lineups in the quartet-and-up range than smaller groupings -- and, prior to the release of Bare Essentials, only one recording featuring the duo version of the SME (Face to Face, released on LP in 1975, reissued on CD 20 years later). Yet, the 1972-1973 era of the group, during which John Stevens and Trevor Watts were its sole members, was seminal to the development of the drummer/guru's approach to free improvisation. During that period, Stevens and Watts focused on minimal musical canvases or concepts that allowed them to explore the inner depths of free improvisation. The two-CD set Bare Essentials culls recordings from that period, carefully selected from cassette recordings made by Watts at concerts and rehearsals. Sound quality is very good, thanks to the original recordings being made with two microphones and a vigorous digital cleanup. The set offers a varied look at the pair's work, from the aforementioned canvas-based experiments to more "regular" SME improvisations. In the latter categories are the two tracks from "Newcastle 72" (a highlight) and most of disc one ("In the Midlands," "In the Middle"). The 32-minute piece "For Phil" was recorded soon after Stevens and Watts learned of the death of jazz drummer Phil Seaman earlier that day, and the performance gets particularly emotional (SME style, of course). It also includes a poignant sax/cornet duo. Disc two contains seven examples of what resulted from Stevens' "extreme minimal click piece" (as label owner Martin Davidson describes it) "Flower" -- not the "concept" part of the piece, but what ensues after, showing how a simple (though very difficult) set of improvisation rules can lead to very different results. (A complete performance of the piece is found on the Frameworks CD). Also noteworthy on disc two is the minimal cornet/sax duo "Lowering the Case." Although less essential than Face to Face, Bare Essentials chronicles a key period in the development of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, and makes for a fascinating -- and demanding -- listen. ~ Francois Couture|