let's talk about derek bailey
 

I have only heard about 10 albums of his but I really dig them. I seem to prefer his solo stuff, which I guess is odd because I read that he didn't enjoy playing solo as much as he did working with other people. However, I gotta say the best thing I've heard by him has to be "Topography of the Lungs". Also, I'd reccomend his collab with Ruins...

Anyone want to talk about any albums they particularly enjoy by him? Also, I'm not entirely well-versed on his technique... I haven't really researched him yet, so if anyone wants to discuss that, too, be my guest. He seems to be playing very fast and very close to the pickups at all times, playing single notes up and down the fretboard and usually not focusing on any "riff" for very long. Though I noticed a very unusual use of harmonics in a lot of his work as well.

Really interesting and listenable stuff... Let's talk about it!! (oh, and sorry if there's already a thread about him on here, I'm a bit busy loading about 30 pages at once at the moment and didn't feel like searching since I'm on dialup right now)...

My favorite guitarist to cite when shutting up guitar center fags with their narrow notion of technical playing.

When I read ''I have only heard about 10 albums of his but I really dig them'' I giggled a bit.

He was a storming force of nature. End of discussion.

yeah derek's great. his early love of 12 tone composers really influenced his use of large and typically dissonant intervals.

the way he uses harmonics is very unique. he tends to alternate frequently between fretted notes and harmonics making a single "line" with both.

it's always important for him to keep his guitar in tune because otherwise he couldnt do what he does. ie he knows what he is doing. at first his playing may seem like anyone could do it but some of the shit he pulls off is super technical and pretty challenging

a favorite chord of his seems to be G# on the 4th fret of the E string, the open A string or fifth string, the F# on the 4th fret of the D string, and the open G string or 4th string.

yeah atsonic, i thought it was weird too that he didnt necessarily like to play solo tho he seemed to do alot of it. i think he considered playing solo a place to work on his ideas or language but because there was no one to play with or react to it was sort of like navel gazing or something. correct me if im wrong but i seem to remember his saying something like this.

his solo stuff seems to be my favorite tho he sounds great playing duo with han bennink on one piece i have of theirs. ive been meaning to find this whole cd at somepoint. didnt like topography of the lungs so much tho but maybe i should give it another try. i seem to like him better solo or in duos or trios. i do like his standards cd. the tunes do something cool to his improvs or maybe its the other way around. ive never heard play so melodically.

also his documentary(s) on youtube about improvisation are pretty interesting.

I was really put off the first several hundred times I tried listening to him, but persistence pays off because I love him dearly. Derek Bailey is one of the standards by which I judge all other musicians. He was a shinging light of good taste and self control, that Derek.

I certainly prefer him in group contexts, for I have an inexplicable mental block for solo guitar music. The Music Improvisation Company records on Incus are fantastic, as are his works with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (can be found on Emanem Records). Topography of the Lungs is wonderful. Derek is also great on Tony Oxley's very out of print Ichnos (I've posted links to it many times if you're interested).

Has anybody heard the Joseph Holbrooke (Tony Oxley, Gavin Bryars, and Derek Bailey) reunion record thing? I've had a hankering to track that down for a while.

spontaneous music ensemble: karyobin

 

1968 from what i remember: evan parker, derek bailey, kenny wheeler, dave holland, tony oxley. beautifully poised between a melodious lyrical quasi-classical european improvised abstract jazz, and scratchy arrhythmical antagonist non-idiomatic noise-making.
herea

Bailey was amazing. Simply one of the few guitarists who continuously make me go 'what the very fuck is he doing?'. Unfortunately, very little of free improv, and often Bailey himself, is worth listening to for extended periods of time. Limescale was one of my favourite things of his latter period, but he's one of these with a little too much output to think about 'favourites', methinks.

I find this quite amazing.

I like that Ballads will mean that he might get heard by more than the sort of obsessives who are frequenting this thread (my mum likes that record).

what about champ bailey?

Derek Bailey/ Simon H. Fell - 15 August 2001

This is long out of print and most unlikely to get re-issued - from the gorgeous series of 3" CDs that sound 323 put out a few years ago. Hope y'all enjoy.

Really great stuff.
If you watch any of his videos you can pretty much figure out his technique. When I watch him It makes think of like your grandfather trying to play rock n' roll.

My favorite release of his is Ballads. I haven't heard much else other than live recordings and such, even though that's what most of it is.

i loove derek bailey. i own a few f his record and a few more i have DLed.
i really like One time (i think its called that) with john stevens and another guy.
another great one is one of the companys that someone posted here a long time ago. i remeber that me and porkmarrass were really blown away by em. i bought his book on improve last week, and have read only a page or two but it looks great.
one of my favorite musicians

love him - my favourite guitarist of all time.

http://experimentaletc.blogspot.com/

I've been in kind of a black hole lately, where Derek Bailey seems to be annhialating all the matter surrounding me. Almost to the point where I'm beginning to think the world is conspiring against me. He really plays meta-music, I think of it. The next frontier of related notes, or something.

I just bought his book as well.

I'd vote Aida, my favorite.
Tohjinbo was the better Ruins collab.
And the one with Ingar Zach was great.
Too many too count.

Oh, he collaborated with Ruins more than once eh? I'm going to have to check that other disc(s) out...

Yeah, I've never watched any videos of him or anything, I need to get on that...

Glad to see lots of love for Mr. Bailey. I just randomly discovered him when someone briefly mentioned him as an influence on Jim O'Rourke on here. So, thanks, whoever that was..

PS: That experimentaletc blog is fantastic, get all the sun city girls albums on there all of you!

haha, "ive only heard ten alblums of his", such an atsonicpark remark. well, ive only heard four, and out of those i think standards is his best. ive always found him a bit (gulp) overrated as a guitarist. i know that might seem like a blasphemous to all of us musicians/fans interested in the avant garde, but hes never blown me away that much.

epic post

i love him, amazing, really did something otherwordly with the guitar and jazz in general. i've not liked very few of his releases but he's someone truly inspiring.

interestingly enough, the first time i listened to one of his records and finally i understood and felt his music was hours before i logged into this very board (well, the old fullerene one) and found out he died the very same day.

i wrote a tribute to him on my blog shortly after, i can link it up if someone hasn't read it yet.

Nice one man.

i had heard him a bit before, but the day after i actually bought one of his albums, he died.