Derek Bailey and Pat Metheny?
flibman
Hey all. I saw that 3 CD set in the store a few days ago, and I've
been going Metheny crazy this whole summer. What I am curious about
is who is Derek Bailey, and in a few words what does he play like, if
that's possible. I'm tempted to buy the album out of respect for Pat
and Wertico, but I don't even know what to expect.
Thanks,
Jeff Libman
rho...@mindspring.com
flibman <fli...@ntsource.com> wrote:
Derek Bailey has been around since the 60's and plays REALLY OUT
stuff!! Nothing like the normal Pat Metheny that you might be used
to. I played an outdoor festival a few years ago that had Derek
Bailey on the bill, and while it was interesting (solo guitar), it
definitely is not for everybody. Proceed at your own risk!!
Andrew T Hopkins
Jeff:
I don't know what 3CD set you're talking about, as I'm not exactly
a huge Metheney fan. This sounds REALLY interesting though.
Derek Bailey is an all-improvisatory player from London who
has recorded with Anthony Braxton and John Zorn, as well as
countless British imrovisers of whom I cannot keep track.
He usually records for Incus label, which he helped start, but
has also recorded for ECM.
His style is nuts. It sounds like if you took samples of
inbetween phrases from a solo jazz guitar piece, and mixed
the samples according to some other logic--I don't know whether
to call it atonal, or polytonal, but TOTAL improv is the key thing.
He plays a big hollowbody usually with only a volume pedal and
a small amp, so the tone is very clean, very trad jazz sometimes, but
what comes out musically is non-trad to the point of total abstraction.
You may not like what he's saying when he's playing, but he is
a real original--noone else sounds like Derek Bailey, except for
maybe Sonny Murray when playing drums.
Andy
Jack F. Vogel
flibman <fli...@ntsource.com> wrote:
>Hey all. I saw that 3 CD set in the store a few days ago, and I've
>been going Metheny crazy this whole summer. What I am curious about
>is who is Derek Bailey, and in a few words what does he play like, if
>that's possible. I'm tempted to buy the album out of respect for Pat
>and Wertico, but I don't even know what to expect.
I don't know where you live, but in the SF Bay area you can find places
to listen to things before you buy. Or, even better, like Tower, you
can get a 'no questions asked' 30 day return.
I would DEFINITELY recommend listening to it first. I have heard some
of it played at Tower Records, and its TOO 'out there' for my taste.
Mind you, I LOVE a lot of Metheny, but this album wasn't for me.
--
Jack F. Vogel SunSoft Solaris OS Engineering ja...@sun.com
USE...@vnet.ibm.com
The 3 CD set is entitled 'The Sign of 4'. The '4' are Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny, Gregg Bendian
and Paul Wertico. 2 of the discs are live recorded at the Knitting Factory and the other disc
is studio stuff. All recorded bet. 12/12 - 12/15. It IS in DB's 'free-improv' realm...but if
you dig free-improv, check it out. (I love it BTW!) For more info check the Knitting Factory's
web page and Downbeat (aug 97) for a review.
aleatory
> >Hey all. I saw that 3 CD set in the store a few days ago, and I've
> >been going Metheny crazy this whole summer. What I am curious about
> >is who is Derek Bailey, and in a few words what does he play like, if
> >that's possible. I'm tempted to buy the album out of respect for Pat
> >and Wertico, but I don't even know what to expect.
>
I have been in several intense discussions about this one on the Metheny newsgroup. The dyed in the wool Metheny people HATE it......nothing but noise arguments.......It is a three cd set: discs one and three are live at the Knitting Factory in NYC, 2 is a studio recording. A three recorded in the same week.
The first disc is the most demanding listen. I really like the studio one and most of three is interesting,too. It is all outside,free improvisation/soundscape/concrete. Not tame, but if you give it time it's a terrific listening experience, plus it's under $20.