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Derek Bailey Sabu Toyozumi: Breath Awareness
by John Sharpe
English guitarist Derek Bailey was a regular visitor to Japan, where he was particularly appreciated. Audiences were such that after his first tour in 1978, he reportedly brought home the money to buy a car. As a consequence, he encountered many of the major figures on the country's free improvisation scene, as releases such as Duo & Trio Improvisation (Kitty, 1978) and Aida's Call (STAR, 1979) confirm. However, he doesn't appear on disc with drummer Sabu Toyozumi until Live In ...
Continue ReadingDerek Bailey, Sabu Toyozumi: Breath Awareness
by Mark Corroto
Guitarist Derek Bailey never compromised his approach to music, but was he influenced and his sound affected by set, setting, and playing partners? Those new to Bailey's working method may posit his approach was inflexible and unaccommodating, while long-time listeners can identify how a playing partner can affect the guitarist's sound. With the force of nature that is Derek Bailey, the greatest influences on his sound were certainly drummers and percussionists. Bailey performed with the likes of Cyro ...
Continue ReadingPerry Como with Derek Bailey: Uncharted Harmonies
by Glenn Astarita
Imagine, if you will, the musical equivalent of a black-tie gala crashing into an abstract art exhibit. This is Uncharted Harmonies, where Perry Como, the man whose voice could soothe a charging bull, meets Derek Bailey, a guitarist who thinks musical notes are too mainstream. Together, they have created an album that is as unlikely as finding a Picasso in a thrift shop. It was recorded after hours at the Village Vanguard in 1974 on reel-to-reel tape. From ...
Continue ReadingDerek Bailey / Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987
by John Sharpe
Thanks to its licensing deal with the Japanese Chap Chap label, the Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint continues its exposure of unexpected gems from the Japanese free scene of the 1980s and 1990s. While many feature solely native improvisers, others pair local performers with Western visitors. Live At Far Out, Atsugi 1987 falls into the latter camp, presenting British guitarist Derek Bailey during one of his regular visits to the country, in duet with saxophonist Mototeru Takagi. Sadly, both ...
Continue ReadingDerek Bailey / Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987
by Mark Corroto
To listen to Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987 is to apply the field of evolutionary biogeography to the world of jazz. Consider the unique evolutionary paths of the creatures on the isolated Galapagos islands and you have the basics of biogeography and its study of the distribution of species and ecosystems. Then there is another type of creature, the jazz innovator. Here we have guitarist Derek Bailey (1930-2005) from England and Japanese saxophonist Mototeru Takagi (1941-2002), both residents of their ...
Continue ReadingJazz and the Rules of the Knife Fight
by Peter Rubie
There's a great scene near the beginning of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when Butch (Paul Newman) returns to the Hole in the Wall Gang and is challenged for leadership of the gang. As Butch and Harvey face off, Butch says to his enormous opponent, “Let's get the rules straight first." Harvey straightens in surprise for a moment and says, “Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!" The script then says, “Butch delivers the most aesthetically exquisite kick in ...
Continue ReadingDerek Bailey & Jamie Muir: Dart Drug
by Chris May
For decades as rare as hens's teeth--or should that be larks's tongues in aspic?--Dart Drug was originally released on the Incus label in 1981, and reissued on CD in 1994. In 2018 it has been remastered and rereleased on vinyl by Honest Jons. The bracing yet strangely beautiful album is one of the few recordings made by the percussionist Jamie Muir after he retired from professional music-making in 1973, first to study Buddhism in Scottish and ...
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