derek bailey died

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http://www.jazzcornertalk.com/speakeasy/showthread.php?p=442189

Sad news.

:-(

― Turangalila (Salvador), Sunday, 25 December 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Awww, fucking Christ. Rest in peace, Derek. You will be missed.

― roger, Sunday, 25 December 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

rough holiday :(

― Stephen C (ihope), Sunday, 25 December 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

:-0

― vahid (vahid), Sunday, 25 December 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

RIP.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Sunday, 25 December 2005 20:38 (twenty years ago)

very sad news indeed. spirits as musically restless, and generous, as his do not frequently alight on our planet. he will be missed, and remembered, for a very long time to come.

― tate (Tate), Sunday, 25 December 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Wow. It's been some years since I listened to him with any regularity, but the impact he (and his wonderful book on improvisation) had on the way I wrote and listened to music was immeasurable. Very sad.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Sunday, 25 December 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

A terrible loss. He had a vision that was really all his.

― Mr Straight Toxic (ghostface), Sunday, 25 December 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

Very sad news. The few discs I have of his (Daedal with Susie Ibarra, Ore with Eddie Prevost and the two with Ruins, plus the Brötzmann sessions he played on) are all great. I got to interview him once, for Jazziz, and he was a terrific, friendly, easygoing guy who didn't blow off any of my stupider questions.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 25 December 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

Oh no! Ah, he'll really be missed. Saw him several times (w/ Alex Ward, Ruins, Peter Brotzmann, solo etc) - what an astonishing guitarist. Saw him blow an awful John Zorn quartet offstage at the Barbican a few years ago which was maybe the best time I saw him. Even in his 70's he was pushing forward, finding new contexts to play in. Shame he never made it up with Evan Parker but he seemed to be pretty ornery when he felt like it. RIP.

― Matt #2 (Matt #2), Sunday, 25 December 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

:-( i'm really shocked by this, for some reason, even though i hardly know his music at all.

― toby (tsg20), Sunday, 25 December 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

This is terrible. I just spent the last year immersing myself in his music, all the while hoping I would get a chance to see him live. He fastly became one of my favorite guitarists. The music world becomes a degree more bland with his loss.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Sunday, 25 December 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

!!!!!!!!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 26 December 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

holy shit, what a shock.

:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

― mark p (Mark P), Monday, 26 December 2005 02:04 (twenty years ago)

Fuck...
RIP, DB.

Time for a little Topography of the Lungs.

― rh (Rock Hardy), Monday, 26 December 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

Wow, that was unexpected and sad. I never did get to see him -- one of those dudes that I just thought would be around forever; the search never stops. Someone recommend an album to me.

― mcd (mcd), Monday, 26 December 2005 06:02 (twenty years ago)

topography of the lungs

― rssl, Monday, 26 December 2005 06:04 (twenty years ago)

Respect & RIP: DB.

A real loss. Not just a brilliant musician, but a great thinker too.

― jon dale, Monday, 26 December 2005 06:36 (twenty years ago)

What the fuck?!! I am not going to be respectful about this. I don't want to be respectful and write "RIP" because when I do that feels too detached. I don't want to talk about him like he's a serious artist because it makes it feel like he lived 300 years ago. this is sad on a real, REAL level for me. What the fuck; as honest as I can put it. I hope this doesn't become a small niche thread where his few fans flutter about how great he is, although I know it will be and should resign myself to this truth. it doesn't seem right is all.

― Sorry Mr with the rings, Monday, 26 December 2005 08:35 (twenty years ago)

very shocked by this, for one reason or another

take care DB

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 26 December 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

I knew he had carpal tunnel syndrome, which I found out by seeing this record in the shops a few months ago. That's when I realized also that the last time I saw him at a concert a few months prior to having that rec in my hands (at the 291 gallery playing w/a septet: maybe the last time he ever player in this country?) that his decision not to use a pick up was due to illness and not some concious decision to just push himself.

It was really fkn remarkable he pushed himself (his mind, body, playing - same thing) in this way, and also sad that there wasn't much beyond the odd review...there was so much more said about 'Ballads'.

But even at the time I saw him perform a solo without the pick up during that gig I never thought anything about it - it seemed so natural to me that he'd play it really differently from one day to the next, whatever he was doing. Of course I wish I had noticed now bcz when I saw him having a quite beer by himself round the interval I thought of going up to him and start chatting (or better arguing abt something) but I didn't know how to start. I guess I wanted to always say 'thanks' but I never knew how. But thanks for what?! I still don't know...

But anyway, I'm sure he is belligerently plucking away somewhere. My thoughts are w/Karen.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 26 December 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

I was just talking about his "subtle, rough" guitar lines on my blog on Wednesday. I was also very impressed by Anders Edstrom's film about Derek, one PLUS one 2. It seems he went out at the peak of his credibility, which happens to very few artists over 60.

― Momus (Momus), Monday, 26 December 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

That's terrible. (Hopefully this is one of those 'DYLAN IS DEAD' hoaxes that come around every once in a while.) I loved his irascible dogmatism, his constant desire to seek out new people to play with, and his shunning of the recording in favor of the performance.

I'm ashamed to say that after the shock, my first thought was 'what's going to be on the two-CD best of?' I think I spend too much time reading ILM.

My favorites: Dart Drug, Aida, Incus Taps, Topography, Compatibles. One of those bits of him playing along with jungle pirate radio should be on there too.

― Brakhage (brakhage), Monday, 26 December 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

RIP

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 26 December 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

I was lucky enough to see him play in duet with Tony Oxley at the Knitting Factory in 1995 (later released as half of Soho Suites). I was completely transfixed. I met him after the show and he was very nice and friendly. A very sad loss.

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Monday, 26 December 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

his credibility: sort of reached a plateau in the 1990s yeah, where it stayed forevermore? he always had his naysayers. i think after all rather than complain they just turned indifferent or perhaps grudgingly admiring in the face of his persistence.

a very jazzlike (nonrock) knotty discography huh? one performance after another.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 26 December 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

this was the first thing in my inbox when i got home today. sad. RIP DB.

― u saved me (dubplatestyle), Monday, 26 December 2005 22:32 (twenty years ago)

Damn, that's a bummer. Just one more to add to the list of 2005's deceased... RIP, son. jam with hendrix and ayler, kthx.

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 02:39 (twenty years ago)

Does anyone have a link confirming this sad news?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 04:05 (twenty years ago)

man.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 06:11 (twenty years ago)

wtf? I am optimistically calling bullshit. Someone please corroborate!

― Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

it's unfortunately definitely true, he died of motor neuron disease (Lou Gehrig's disease) in London on the morning of the 25th. both Martin Davidson (who runs Emanem) and Noel Akchote (a good friend) have sent around bulk mail notices to this effect.

supposedly his ashes will be scattered on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as part of an homage concert that Zorn is arranging. the obvious followup question is "why New York?", and while I'm not so close to the situation, from talking to people, it seems as if Derek had grown disgusted with London late in his life, and would have moved to NYC instead of Barcelona if he and Karen could have afforded it.

― jon abbey, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 01:26 (twenty years ago)

We'll miss him. Even those people who didn't dig what he played respected his dedication and commitment to his life as a guitarist, Carpal Tunnels is such a remarkable example of going forward while ones body is going backwards. How many artists would have the courage to do that instead of feeling sorry for themselves. Great musician, great person too. The friend who first turned me onto him, said "You'll dig him, he's like the Samuel Beckett of the guitar".

― steve ketchup, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 02:28 (twenty years ago)

the first actual press report I've seen:

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3246,36-724902@51-725095,0.html

― jon abbey, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 09:32 (twenty years ago)

Sorry to get off topic, but - did you ever live in Alaska, Jon?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 12:08 (twenty years ago)

http://www.taz.de/pt/2005/12/28/a0175.nf/text

― Tobias Rapp (Tobias Rapp), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 12:33 (twenty years ago)

very sad.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

"Sorry to get off topic, but - did you ever live in Alaska, Jon?"

nope, sorry.

― jon abbey, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 17:35 (twenty years ago)

Nice tribute from WFMU here:

http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/17495

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

Different Jon Abbey, then. Frankly, he seemed an unlikely candidate to be you anyway.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

Obituary from the guardian.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 29 December 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

Company is correctly identified as the centre of what he did...

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 29 December 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

Just seen this.

I never saw him play and can't pretend to have ever really listened to any of his recordings either, but I read Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music while at Uni in the mid 80s. I can't think of any other book that made me think differently about music more than that one. RIP.

― Jeff W, Friday, 30 December 2005 19:33 (twenty years ago)

I think I'd also just assumed he'd live forever. Damn. He really changed the way I thought about the instrument.

Not an obit but a pretty good article: http://www.habitsofwaste.wwu.edu/issues/1/iss1art5.shtml

― Sundar (sundar), Friday, 30 December 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

RIP

totally sucks

― Dominique (dleone), Friday, 30 December 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

this bonk clang rip pluck ting is for you derek!
m.

― msp (mspa), Saturday, 31 December 2005 00:48 (twenty years ago)

Terrible news. The Lou Gehrig's diagnosis puts me in mind of Woody Guthrie, and somehow they seem to go well together - perhaps its etiology has something to do with a terrific independence of mind.

There are a couple of streamable tributes on WFMU - besides the long one already mentioned, by John Allen, there's a six-track tribute at the end of Brian Turner's show:

http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/17517

In both cases you can stream the tracks individually or together. Turner's includes those amazing recordings of Bailey playing along to drum & bass pirate DJs.

― carl w (carl w), Saturday, 31 December 2005 03:59 (twenty years ago)

Sorry! Also meant to say that there's a tribute post up on WFMU's blog that links to this clip of DB playing on a hillside for schoolkids in Japan while Min Tanaka (a butoh dancer) improvises along with him:

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/BT/derekmin.mpg

― carl w (carl w), Saturday, 31 December 2005 04:05 (twenty years ago)

That link to the video with Min Tanaka is much appreciated (had never seen him in action, only heard him doing his thing through the tapping and flapping on "Music and Dance"), but now I feel like a complete dick for cracking up watching the dancing; I'm gonna have to go listen to "Aida" or something to atone and be respectful...

― C.D., Saturday, 31 December 2005 05:36 (twenty years ago)

i've always wanted to like derek's guitar playing more than i could. i think he's boring on record. would've liked to see him perform w/han bennink. i really identified with parts of improvisation, particulary the stuff where oxley and bryars (maybe it was just bryars) described their experiences playing in joseph holbrooke, and how they tried to "avoid the pulse"

― rssl, Saturday, 31 December 2005 05:55 (twenty years ago)

hoax.

he's not dead.

― mpd, Tuesday, 3 January 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

radio 3 has a tribute here - evan parker chats a bit, this link might not be there tomorrow (programmes only archived for a week):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/index.shtml

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 26 January 2006 22:29 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

About Carpal Tunnel by Derek Bailey :

I think it can be interesting for you to know that the first piece from CARPAL TUNNEL (explanation & thanks), 10.34m in lenght on the Tzadik recording, is for the most part the same as the one he sent me as a personnal recording, entitled Carol from D (handwritten in black ink on a white CD). That original version is 12.16m in lenght and was recorded around February 12, 2005 in Barcelona . He acknowledged the reception of the first version of the over 700 pages discography project I sent him (now near 1000 pages) titled THE LOST CHORD (based at first on the one by Peter Stubley, I did it and continue to work and expand it on the fun of it). As you know, Mr. Bailey is talking about the way he was playing the guitar at that time. I was very moved by that recording, and still am, as you can guess.

The difference between the two pieces is Derek Bailey playing a bit more electric at the end of the recording he sent me.

― Carol Dallaire, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 16:48 (twenty years ago)

Still missing him. He would have loathed the idea of being anybody's musical hero but he was certainly the nearest thing I've ever had to a musical idol - everything I think about music, my whole approach to listening to and responding to it, everything that didn't stem from my dad stems from DB.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 16:58 (twenty years ago)

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