John Stevens and Trevor Watts are two very important jazz musicians in any company. Their parent group, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, has tested and extended the jazz idiom for some nine years, with varyingly successful results. As Amalgam they have trodden more familiar paths yet, more than their other group, it is the one that has established their credentials most conclusively.
This album is dedicated to two former Ornette Coleman drummers and both trios fashion their music in the tradition of the great American. Watts is particularly at home with such a policy. The odd Colmanesque phrase creeps in but Watts is very much his own man. What he does is use the Coleman idiom of free, melodic invention and produce his own improvised concepts within it.
Both Herman and Clyne complement this procedure by concentrating on the strongly rhythmic aspect of the style. Herman is a vastly improved player and on Blackwell he ‘walks’ the bass with an old world drive, at the same time sustaining a line that manages to be complementary to the soaring alto and vital in its own right. Clyne is a more insinuating bassist who has worked with SME/Amalgam on and off since the beginning and knows the music instinctively. His singing tone is prominent on Higgins, although at times he leaves the rhythmic impetus to the drummer.
Stevens drums superbly throughout. He makes no attempt to assimilate the playing methods of either Eddie Blackwell or Billy Higgins although, possibly because he wrote the themes, he does adopt a slightly different approach to the two subjects. Blackwell finds his drumming more legato, with a loose-wristed gait that makes for a very relaxed performance. Higgins is tighter and the whole piece seems more urgent as a result. Personally, I cannot decide which approach I most prefer. Both suit the trio well and take into account the contrast between the bassists. Readers who, in the past, might have been daunted by the experimental nature of the SME’s work will find this rocking record a very joyful affirmation of free jazz principles.
Discography
(a) Blackwell (21½ min) – (b) Higgins (26½ min)
(a) Trevor Watts (alt); Ron Herman (bs); John Stevens (dm). Birmingham 23/3/72.
(b) as (a) but Jeff Clyne for Herman. London 24/1/73.
(A Records A 002 £2.40)
