>I see a lot of comments about the godliness of Derek Bailey, and having
just
>acquired one of his albums (thanks to Bruno Bissonnette!) I'd like to know
>what you all think about his music, or more correctly, how you *approach*
>his music. Being "relatively" new to the more improvised music, this is
>some pretty radical stuff.
Now, that's what I call an understatement.
>The thing is, I'm still not "getting" Bailey. I know that GDB is probably
>not the most representative thing of his, seeing as it's just a bunch of
>different mixes with what sound like different random guitar parts of
>Bailey's on top. Not to make a judgement at all, but all I hear and have
>heard of Bailey at this point is a lot of random guitar noise. What am I
>missing? Have I picked up entirely the wrong albums? I'm certain that
I'm
>not entirely "ready" for Bailey at this point in my musical evolution, but
>where's a good place to start?
Random noise? Maybe at first hearing, and yes, to some people it will stay
random noise. When someone calls this music random, I allways give him or
her a guitar and ask to imitate this kind of music.... wich never happens. I
know that it is not a way of showing what is good music or not, but hey. No
seriously, I practice the guitar myself for 20 years now, and then I hear
derek play.... wow, his way of approaching the guitar really impresses me.
Once again, some people would say that this argument prooves that his music
would be musicians' music, but it isn't.
How do I approach his music? Hard to say and explain. We had a similar
question on the zornlist concerning noise and how to approach this kind of
music. Well, I am a great fan of japanese noise (especially Aube) and just
listen to this kind of music in the same style....... I just put headphones
on and somehow grows inside this kind of music. My personal experience is
that after some minutes my mind just gets lost inside dereks' cluster of
notes, his brute electric power, the volume changes.... it just hits me.
So how do I approach this music? Well, I suggest you should try to go beyond
what apparently sounds like random noise, a whole world lies behind his
music.
But derek bailey has more "regular" albums as well, wich are not that harsh.
My favorite list of "normal" derek bailey releases:
- -Bailey and Kaiser (Shanachie) and Bailey and Philips (Incus): very lyrical
playing
- -Joseph Holbrooke Trio (incus): melodic and laidback
- -Iskra (all of them on emanem): laidback
- -Bailey-Tacuma-Westen (Tzadik): funky playing
- -Toney Oxley and derek bailey reissues of sony label: lyrical playing
But to be honest, I prefer his solo free albums.
Anyway, go chech the archives if you want my reviews on previous derek
bailey releases.
Best wishes, and good luck with your discovery of dereks' music,
Stefan Verstraeten (who is such a great fan of Bailey that even a fart of
derek bailey would sound to him of wonderful improvised music)
- -
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Date: Sat, 06 May 2000 11:37:48 -0400
From: Brian Olewnick <olewnik@idt.net>
Subject: Re: approaching bailey
Stefan Verstraeten wrote:
> Random noise? Maybe at first hearing, and yes, to some people it will stay
> random noise.
It took me quite a while to really enjoy Bailey, who I first encountered
on that Music Improvisation Co. record on ECM around 1974, purchased, of
course ;-), because of the presence of erstwhile Crimson percussionist
Jamie Muir. I wasn't very fond of the record at the time, but was a
little more intrigued by Bailey's pieces on 'Guitar Solos vol 2', the
collection w/ Frith, Reichel, etc. not the similarly titled Incus/Bailey
release. Still, I resisted for many years, until I purchased and was
floored by that Incus Vol 2 disc.
So, 1) I'd suggest a solo album as a way in. 'Aida', 'Drop Me Off at
96th' and 'Takes Fakes and Dead She Dances', in addition to the above,
are all, imo, superb. 2) Catch him live. Another revelation for me was
the first time I saw him perform, with Zorn and Frith at the old Knit,
and marvelled at the intense concentration he brought, the clear sense
(I've said this before here, I know) that _every_ odd sound created was
_precisely_ the one he intended at that instant. In some ways, I find
his playing analagous to the Japanese thrown-ink technique (I'm blanking
on the proper term) where such extraordinary control is exercised that
detailed landscapes are created in several seconds of apparently
arbitrary wrist and brush action.
BTW, although his d'n'b activities and the collab w/ Metheny have likely
garnered him the most press and sales, I think they're among his weaker
efforts, FWIW.
> Stefan Verstraeten (who is such a great fan of Bailey that even a fart of
> derek bailey would sound to him of wonderful improvised music)
Reminds me of Dali's wonderful and, I think, self-mocking comment that
he should certainly be able to sell his daily stool (especially the more
finely crafted ones) for enormous sums of money!
Brian Olewnick
NP: Folke Rabe--What?? (Dexter's Cigar)
- -
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Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 12:18:22 EDT
From: User384726@aol.com
Subject: Re: Approaching Bailey (and beyond)
I would first of like to thank the many members for the imense amount of
information they given to me but to anwer the questions at hand you started
asking the right question. I think one of the best ways to find out way one
does or doesn't like a musician is to find the words of that musician/music
from that source. Mr. Bailey has a wonderful book on Improvisation which is
a worth while purchase for any musician in any style. Also there is a book
titled " Extended Play : Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein,"
which has interesting articles by Bailey, Braxton, Cage, George Clinton,
etc... Once you hear what an artist is trying to say, be concious of that
when listening to his/her art. For instance I think Mark O'Connor's "The New
Nashville Cats" album has some of the best country/bluegrass playing ever,
especially on fiddle. If I tried to hear that on Itzhak Pearlman's Cd of the
J. S. Bach "Violin Sonatas and Partitas," which is one of the greatest albums
I've ever heard, I would be greatly dissapionted. The same goes with DB.
Keep in mind that a musician of DB calliber has such a remarkably unique
voice and since art tends to be subjective you can take it or leave it. If I
want to hear Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa, Grant Green, Zoot Horn Rollo, Bill
Frisell, etc... I'd be very dissapointed. I do think Derek offers some of
the most amazing music I've heard and I don't feel rights going on about his
use of dissonant harmonics and fretted notes, octave displacements in melodic
lines, working with pitch collections, or any other techinical jargon that
can't compare to the end result. Hope this helped.
Aaron Solomon
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 06 May 2000 12:33:35 -0500
From: kurt_gottschalk@scni.com
Subject: approaching bailey
guitar, drum'n'bass is a pretty controversial release, here and elsewhere. i
quite like it, but it's probably not the place to start. where to start, tho?
'aida' is gorgeous, but maybe not representative (and maybe not available -- i
heard dexter's cigar, the most recent issue, had gone belly up. any
confirmation?). 'daedel' w/susie ibarra is fantastic. the kind of strong but
sympathetic player that puts db at his best. i haven't heard any bailey
recording i don't like, but then i haven't heard the tacuma/weston thing yet.
there's been numerous bailey best bets offered here in the past, so maybe you
want to peruse the archives (however it is one does that).
but if you're feeling mystified, maybe it's just not working for you on record.
i think he's one of those that you really have to see live to get his approach.
if you live anywhere where that's possible, godspeed. if not, incus sells some
performance videos. i haven't seen them, but i've given much thought to ordering
the vid wit brilliant butoh dancer min tanaka. anyone seen that, or the others?
np: xtc upsy daisy assortment (and highly anticipating the impending release of
apple venus pt. 2)
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 12:58:47 EDT
From: APoesia794@aol.com
Subject: drumm bailey/taylor
did anyone make it to the recent kevin drumm gigs or the derek baily/cecil
taylor show at tonic? any reviews? jt
trade page: http://members.aol.com/apoesia794/
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 06 May 2000 13:38:11 -0400
From: wlt4@mindspring.com
Subject: writers needed
Hi, I'm starting a new web zine called Adventures In Sound and need material. Reviews, interviews, short essays, etc will all work; even previously published material with the permission of the copyright holder. In addition to the usual Zorn List subjects, I'd like to cover pre-60s pop, psych & prog rock, world music, unusual classical, worthy punk/indie, lounge, soundtracks, Incorrect Music/weirdness, etc. There's no payment but contributors keep the copyright to their own material.
If you have any interest please e-mail me directly.
Thanks, LT
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 14:26:15 EDT
From: JonAbbey2@aol.com
Subject: Re: drumm bailey/taylor
In a message dated 5/6/00 12:59:39 PM, APoesia794@aol.com writes:
<< did anyone make it to the recent kevin drumm gigs or the derek baily/cecil
taylor show at tonic? any reviews? >>
well, Brian and i already talked here about the Bailey/Taylor show, but I'd
be happy to write a bit about the Drumm shows. I saw all four sets he played,
unsurprisingly, since he stayed with me.
the first set with Ikue was pretty cool, although she cut it short for some
reason, only about 25 minutes. I'm not a huge fan of hers, I tend to like my
electroacoustic improv more abstract, and her beats always bring me back to
reality too quickly. I asked her about her septet set a few nights before
this with Evan Parker, Zorn, Tim Berne, Rothenberg, Georg Grawe, and Earl
Howard. her pithy assessment was "too many boys", which was a perfect
summary, I thought.
the second set that night was with the husband/wife team of Tom Surgal/Lin
Culbertson, otherwise known as White Out. easily my least favorite of the
four sets, although Kevin was great.
the next night, the first set was solo Drumm, and was superb. he didn't bring
his Mac, just a guitar and synth, but he's so unique and full of ideas, one
of the handful of electronic improvisers who can play a great solo set. he's
influenced by Ralf Wehowsky, and it's interesting to go back and listen to
Wehowsky's Streamline record, "when freezing air stings like ice...", having
heard so much Drumm in the interim.
the second set was with Lee Ranaldo, and was awesome. Lee was 100 times more
subtle than I'd ever heard him before (even Thurston Moore couldn't believe
how Lee played, and he's heard him once or twice before), and the two of them
just clicked. at the end, they trailed off to virtual silence, but Lee
wouldn't look up to end it, so everyone just sat there on the edge of their
seat for a couple of minutes, not quite sure if there was still sound coming
from the musicians or not. really great.
there's going to be an article on electroacoustic improvisers in tomorrow's
NY Times Arts and Leisure section (complete with a picture of Polwechsel, I
believe), so if you're interested, check it out.
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 19:48:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ken Waxman <cj649@freenet.toronto.on.ca>
Subject: Re: drumm bailey/taylor
Jon/Brian:
My e-mail was down for a week so I missed your probably incisive comments
on the Taylor-Bailey gig. (Oh if I was wealthy enough [or at all] to get
to every gig I'd like to in NYC).
So for my sake and maybe others what was the gist of the match-up? Or
e-mail me privately if you think others aren't interested.
thanks
Ken Waxman
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 17:13:16 -0700
From: Martin_Wisckol@link.freedom.com
Subject: ornette's first band
whit wrote: (in the same way one can
appreciate ornette coleman's first band in terms of its piviotal role in
the development of 'free jazz' while still not enjoying hearing it).
so i wonder: is it really possible that anybody on this list does not
enjoy ornette's first band?! or perhaps there was a band before the
wonderful cherry/haden quartet that you're referring to?
martin
np. liz phair -- the one with eggs in the title
- -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 22:47:48 -0300
From: "Hugo Linares" <hlinares@utenet.com.ar>
Subject: RE: Lincoln Center /Greenaway (off topic)
>writer-director Peter Greenaway, whose films include "The Cook, The Thief,
His
>Wife and Her Lover." The opera is set in Holland in 1672, when the Dutch
Golden
Can anyone share any opinions on the soundtrack of this old Peter
Greenaway's film?
Was it a Howard Shore's work? Label?
You can mail me privately.
Thanks in advance,
Hugo Linares
- -
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Date: Sun, 07 May 2000 13:08:42 -0600
From: Chris Sundberg <shangomoons@yahoo.com>
Subject: Greenaway
I'd be interested in who did the music for this too. I've almoist bought the
soundtrack to Prospero's Books a couple've times, but never have for some
reason, anyoen ahve it, is it worht getting? Who did it?
Chris
Hugo Linares wrote:
> >writer-director Peter Greenaway, whose films include "The Cook, The Thief,
> His
> >Wife and Her Lover." The opera is set in Holland in 1672, when the Dutch
> Golden
>
> Can anyone share any opinions on the soundtrack of this old Peter
