Biography
Tenor saxophonist Glenn Spearman anchored his approach in the free jazz currents of the 1960s and 1970s, establishing himself as a pivotal presence within California’s Bay Area avant-garde community. His initial immersion in experimental circles occurred around Oakland during the closing years of the 1960s. Relocating to Paris in 1972, he assembled the ensemble Emergency, which issued multiple recordings on the Brain imprint through the middle of the decade, appeared on French radio and television, and played festivals such as Avignon alongside additional European stages. He next accepted an artist-in-residence post in Rotterdam, directing and writing material for the local student orchestra. After extensive European engagements with assorted collaborators, he returned to the United States by 1983 and joined the Cecil Taylor Unit as well as Taylor’s New York-based Big Band and Dance Orchestra. In 1984 Spearman resettled in the Bay Area yet sustained an active touring schedule across North America and Europe. During the 1990s he directed the Double Trio, a group featuring Larry Ochs of the Rova Saxophone Quartet, percussionist William Winant, and bassist Lisle Ellis. The ensemble appeared at festivals including Monterey and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, received a 1995 “Whammie Music Award” nomination from the San Francisco Weekly, and fulfilled a commission to compose and perform for the Move Dance Theatre at Laney College. Spearman also worked directly with Rova, serving as concertmaster for the Ascension Project devoted to John Coltrane’s music, a project later documented on Black Saint. In 1996 the Double Trio was invited to perform and record at Germany’s West Ferman Radio of Cologne; that same year Spearman joined forces with Bay Area filmmaker Lynn Kiby. Beyond his performing and recording activities, he instructed private students and taught at Mills College for at least four years throughout the decade. Glenn Spearman died of cancer in October 1998. The following year Tzadik issued Blues for Falasha, the Double Trio’s final recording.
Albums
