Spearman was active in Oakland, California, in the late 1960s but moved to Paris in 1972 and founded the band Emergency[1] with bassist Bob Reid.
This group recorded two albums, performed on radio and television in France, and appeared at the festival in Avignon.
[1] Following his return he worked in the Cecil Taylor Unit,[1] primarily out of San Francisco though he performed on both sides of the Atlantic through the 1980s.
In the 1990s, he led the Double Trio which included Larry Ochs, William Winant, and Lisle Ellis as sidemen; this ensemble played at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
[1] He worked with the Rova Saxophone Quartet and with filmmaker Lynn Marie Kirby in addition to teaching at Mills College.