Derek Bailey Music

I bought this to fill out my "jazz core collection" as noted in The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings) (I'm working from both ends now), and I expected jazz. This is some kind of avant garde, fancy jazz, but not what I was hoping for, and not what I will listen to on a regular basis. This is a very musically, sonically, and tonically challenging work, and I consider the performances excellent, but simply put, this album will not bear up to repeated listening. When it comes to jazz, I know when I'm in the mood for Bill Evans, and when I'm in the mood for Duke Ellington, and in the mood for Billie Holiday, or in the mood for Miles Davis, etc. I will never be "in the mood" for John Zorn. This album sounds like what happens when a toy truck crashes into a music studio while the producers were taking a break watching a Clint Eastwood movie: hollow, tinny pianos, plastic snare drums, gunshot effects, and screaming. If you want a musically interesting CD, this is for you. If you want jazz music, you can take a pass on this.

3 1/2

Marking a noticeable evolution in this radical composer's one-of-a-kind-career, 1984's early breakthrough interpretations of the spaghetti western king proved a worthy and memorable endeavor. Through Zorn's typically cracked lens Morricone's dusty constructs are given a whole new, usually quite darkened reworking. More traditional fans of these original compositions may initially be turned off with the expansive and distorted liberties taken to resurrect these themes (as compositionally sound as much of the recording is, of course this long album comes with quite a few unsettling, anti-musical audio adventures) but any Zorn fan would be remiss not to own what would start out a long tradition of these fractured, often rewarding tributes.

John Zorn stepped away from his game piece albums and began to get into more conventional songs with "The Big Gundown". A set of 15 Ennio Morricone songs, and one Zorn-penned homage to a Morricone song, it's a difficult album to classify. Zorn is usually characterized as jazz, but this is a long long way from Louis Armstrong, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of improvisation. Zorn himself performs only on a minority of the songs. He's more of a producer-arranger. But, even if he isn't playing the alto sax, these songs bear Zorn's unmistakeable imprint. There's an original 1985 section, and Zorn added some bonus songs in 2000.

Let's describe all the songs since the music sample is often deceptive for this CD. "The Big Gundown" aims for creepy. There are ominous piano chords, dissonant noises, and screams. The music resolves somewhat when a Brazilian percussion section begins, and ends with some Rawhide-esque "ha"'s. "Peur Sur La Ville" is built around an unsettling piano figure and noises. It has a unconventional free-jazz aura to it. "Poverty" is a quiet song based on Toots Thielman's whistling. "Milano Odeo" is a catchy, almost rock-n-roll song taken at a brisk pace. As the song goes on, the keyboards get more unsettling and the guitar gets noisier. "Erotico" has bluesy organ, and Bill Frisell's most romantic electric guitar (in an '80's way) paired with female vocalizations. "Battle Of Algiers" might be my favorite (maybe just because of the represented movies I've seen it's my favorite). Wayne Horvitz pounds out the tense piano line while sounds effects explode in the background. "Giu La Testa" has a slow build for about four minutes, then there's a plucking, walking part to take the song out. "Metamorfosi" is a good song to play when you want guests to leave, Diamanda Galas screams on top of tribal drums. "Tre Nel 5000" is credited to Zorn as a composer. To me, it sounds like a 4 1/2 minute dose of ambient noise. "Once Upon A Time In The West" starts quietly and deliberately, with feedback swelling and decaying. Robert Quine and Jody Harris play their guitars otherwise very minimalistically (not minimally, the feedback is constant). That ends the 1985 section of the CD.

The 2000 section uses an updated cast of players. "The Sicilian Clan" is familiar from the "Naked City" CD, though the instrumentation is more acoustic, and Cyro Baptista adds "western movie" percussion. "Macchie Solari" is another unsettling song. It ends in a fit of crashing piano chords and screams. "The Ballad Of Hank McCain" teams Mike Patton's heroic baritone with Jamie Saft's organ and Baptista's background congas. It's one of the more accessible songs, I wonder what it would sound like with a fuller band. The later instrumental version sounds about the same except, of course, without singing. "Svegliatti And Uccidi", with Marc Ribot and Derek Bailey on guitar-mangling duties, is a skronky blow-out. "Chi Mai", with the same musicians as "The Sicilian Clan", has a pretty melody and gentle music.

Some of these songs are very cool and original, others I can go without. Since it's a mixed bag I give it three stars. Zorn is certainly an original, and fans will want to make sure they have this one.

I've got about 30 Zorn albums, and this was the first I heard, back in college late during an all-nighter. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Fantastic stuff, and very weird. This is more listenable than some, but definitely not the most easy of Zorn's albums. Great treatments of some familiar pieces if you're into spaghetti westerns.

This is on my must-have list for Zorn albums.

One of the best albums in Zorn's catalog, "The Big Gundown" is a masterpiece augmented in this 15th anniversary edition with a number of new recordings. These are reinterpretations of Mooricone pieces (with one Zorn original) for various groups. The entire record is powerful and energetic, with breathtaking arrangements, brilliant performances, and a fire that had not been captured in Zorn's previous recordings. It is also probably his first true masterpiece.

I think in many ways, the opener and title track best illustrates the aesthetic on the record, if you don't like that one, you'll probably not care for the rest of it-- it covers a number of moods, being dark, haunting, theatrical, explosive and esoteric, sometimes all at once. This sort of theatrical mood extends across a number of songs, the haunting circular piano and percussion workout "Peur Sur la Ville" (with a blazing alto sax solo from Tim Berne), an the dark electric guitar workout take of "Once Upon a Time in the West", reduced a funereal pace.

But there are also many moments of delicate beauty as well-- take for instance "Poverty (Once Upon a Time in America)", with an unusual instrumentation of whistling, harmonica (both handled by Toots Theilman), harp and accordian. Particularly when the harmonica takes the melody, the support swells and embraces and holds on, expressing pain and loss and fear for the future. Or consider the brooding and yet someone still light "Giu la Testa (Duck You Sucker!)", building anticipation through its dark motifs and bizarre instrumentation (among others, the Japanese shamisen, english horn, acoustic guitar, gamecalls and keyboards).

The bonus tracks are no less essential-- Zorn brought in about everyone he played with for the originals, these were a chance to catch up. The amazing thing about Zorn is that as an arranger, he's lost none of his flair in the intervening years, in fact, he may have even gotten better. Zorn uses his "Bar Kokhba" sextet (the Masada String Trio augmented by guitarist Marc Ribot, drummer Joey Baron and percussionist Cyro Baptista) to great effect on breathtaking arrangements of "The Sicilian Clan" and "Chi Mai", and adds another great guitar workout feature with Ribot and Derek Bailey in a noisy, disjoint take of "Sveggliatti and Uccidi", but its Mike Patton's Tom growl on "The Ballad of Hank McCain" that is the gem of the material-- stunning delivery that really captures something special (and may be the best vocal Patton has ever done) over a delicate organ (Jamie Saft) and percussion (Baptista) backdrop that matches and perhaps outstrips the best of the original material.

This is essential music for Zorn fans, if you're not, this may well be a good place to start-- the music can be difficult, and it covers a ton of moods, but there is a lot to hear. Highly recommended.

Some time in the late 1990s, improv veteran Derek Bailey took to practising along with local drum'n'bass radio stations because he liked how chaoting the broadcasts were. (The DJs would set up intense grooves and talk over them, ring for pizza etc., something which Bailey - who had a penchant for sending his friends cassette letters of himself talking while playing guitar) appreciated. When John Zorn asked him if he'd like to record an album, Bailey expressed a wish to record an album of his guitar over drum'n'bass.

A DJ was duly commissioned to record some grooves, which were sent to Bailey. Some of the grooves apparently had stretches involving keyboard music, which Bailey ruthlessly erased, preferring not to have to compete with another melody instrument. The result is a dizzying, manic spin through late 90s beats with heavily modernist and rather fuzzy guitar spun over the top in Bailey's inimitable manner - perhaps the most recent great power trio album.

According to his Bailey's biographer, the guitarist was not entirely happy with the grooves (provided by one DJ Ninj, never heard of by this writer before or since). He thought them a bit tame, compared to the stuff he'd been practising to. But there's nothing tame about the record, as mind-twisting an encounter between street music and the avant-garde as has ever been recorded. Highly recommended, not least because it's one of the few Bailey recordings you can dance to and one of the few drum'n'bass recordings that has really evil guitar.

That guy below names at least 2, if not 3 guitar players who respect Derek Bailey, and have even played with him.(The first three) While his music is maybe not for everyone, there is no denying Bailey's impact on modern music with his playing and written works.

I mean come on, your comparisons are not only ignorant, but they are apples to oranges.

Derek Bailey is a British guitarist who was on the forefront of the free jazz music scene. Although, he's been around since the 40s, his "music" is completely oblivious to melody and harmony, which in turn makes his playing intolerable. This whole mentality of askewing melody, rhythm, and harmony, the very foundation of music, is ignorant. The important thing to learn from this review is that you shouldn't waste your money on someone who's ignorance is painted on everything he's ever done. He may be a respected avant-garde jazz guitarist, but he isn't respected by me. My jazz guitar heroes will always be Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, and John Abercrombie. All of whom, can play and comprehend what music is all about.

Maybe I just take such things as MELODY or HARMONY for granted, but, well, this music (if it can be called that) is really just prefabricated drum 'n' bass beats with noisy and completely dissonant chords on top. Well, kudos to you, Derek Bailey, for making chords SO dissonant, that there were no inklings of true harmony interwoven within (I probably heard a fifth in there somewhere... though my telephone can make better music).

Each song title has, in parentheses, completely meaningless phrases like "cake mix" (the only song I have an inkling of liking on this cd). Most artists only use the word "mix" when making a remix of a song. Not this artist! He is SO AVANT-GARDE that he uses words differently than normal humans! Talk about artistic!

Alright, maybe I am a little biased. I have not found a good drum 'n' bass album yet (I am looking!), though I realize the potential of such a style. I also have a dislike for avant-garde music. I will say it right here: if you like conventional music, you will be so horrifically angry at this album you will probably torch it. If you like jazz (I think it sounds a little like jazz, and yes, I like and listen to a lot of jazz) then you might like this album. It is... artistic.

The processed drums & bass make this stand apart in terms of the overall sound, but it's Bailey's explosive playing that puts it at the top of his achievements. Think Sonny Sharrock, more so than Hendrix, but he transcends all as he pushes his strings to new limits. This is quite unlike the way he used to play with Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, et al. And not really at all like the nearly contemporary release "Ballads." Derek really shows his chops on this one. Those who have tried him before and failed to connect on his wavelength should try again. This is a remarkable work.

If you've never heard of Derek Bailey - and the chances are you have, or you wouldn't be reading this - then you ought to know that not only is he the most inventive and imaginative guitar player on the surface of the planet, he's also one of the finest musicians working in any kind of music today.

Which is not to say that he provides happy bedtime listening, although you could play some of his more reflective acoustic stuff as a prelude to putting the head on the pillow. Bailey pretty much reinvented the guitar during the late Sixties, devising an improvising technique that relies neither on pretty tunes nor a lulling backbeat. Every note counts. His music is a constantly shifting, twanging, pinging, humming texture of sound, which those who've had their ears tutored by a little exposure to 20th century classical music won't find utterly alien, but which fans of what is laughably still referred to as "jazz" may be disconcerted by. Mr. Bailey is now 70 years old and as creative as ever (as I can personally confirm, having heard him in concert last night), and his determination to play whatever he wants as long as it sounds good has seldom been so startlingly confirmed as on this album.

A few years ago he apparently started to play along with local drum'n'bass stations on FM radio, because he happened to find the energy invigorating, or something. John Zorn heard about it and put Bailey together with a young English DJ named DJ Ninj, the idea being that Ninj would programme some backing tracks and Bailey would improvise over them. The result was released by Zorn's Hip's Road label as this album, a manic, crackling clatter of repetitive rhythm and utterly non-repetitive improvisation. It spits energy out of the speakers and is the snarling, evil shadow of the kind of somnolent noodling that contemporary jazz guitar fans have learned to be indifferent to. (Hats off here to Pat Metheny, the only quasi-mainstream jazz figure who's had the guts to play with Bailey.) A thoroughly unlikely record, but a brilliant one.