Friday, January 6th, 2006 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

First show of the new year! Not counting the Prog Rock special with Ragnar on Jan. 2 ...

It's my first show since the passing of Derek Bailey on Christmas Day, so I've devoted a lot of time to different elements of his work. Fun stuff -- both his music and the idea of weaving him throughout the show, especially with the challenge of tossing in mainstream jazz along the way.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)

Derek Bailey and Joelle Leandre -- "No Waiting, One" -- No Waiting (Potlatch, 1998)

* Derek Bailey -- "After 5 Weeks" -- Carpal Tunnel (Tzadik, 2005)

A CD of slower tracks, recorded after Bailey had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (speculatively, this might have been not carpal tunnel, but the early symptoms of the neurological ailment that he eventually died of). Rather than get surgery, Bailey chose to adjust his playing style, recording some of the results for this disk. He's more careful and deliberate than before, probably reflecting the adjustments he's having to make. Interesting document.

Group out of Southern California that's done a few releases together; this one's the best yet. Some nice compositions and great solos -- very enjoyable stuff. Their press materials say they're going to be called the "Empty Cage Quartet" from now on. Took me a few seconds to figure out why -- it's clever.

* Steve Lehman -- "Vapors" -- Demian As Posthuman (Pi Recordings, 2005)

* On Ensemble -- "Gengakki" -- Dust and Sand (self-released, 2005)

Fantastic local group that puts traditional Japanese music through lots of modern paces. Taiko drumming is at the heart of things, but they've also got some vocals, lots of other percussion, and even thumb pianos for one track.

Derek Bailey -- "Tunnel Hearing" -- Fairly Early, with Postscripts (Emanem, 1999; recorded 1980)

An acoustic track that shows Derek's propensity for talking during his performance. Nearly shouting over a loud segment, he explains that he talks to himself to "keep the left brain occupied," likening it to smoking or drinking in others. Not sure that makes sense, but it's kinda cool.

* The Redressers -- "Anchor" -- To Each According ... (Free Porcupine Society, 2004)

* Tryptych Myth -- "A Time To" -- The Beautiful (AUM Fidelity, 2005)

Derek Bailey, Pat Metheney, Gregg Bendian, Paul Wertico -- "A Study in Scarlet" [tracks 1-3 of 9] -- The Sign of 4 (Knitting Factory, 1997)

Oh man. The centerpiece to my Derek Bailey tribute, a loud loud loud session to contrast the acoustic stuff I'd played until now. Pat Metheney really lets loose here -- too much, many have said, as his overly loud and aggressive playing forced everyone else to follow suit, washing out the subtle interplay that's supposed to happen in these improvised kinds of sessions. Yeah, I can see that. This is good noisy fun nonetheless. "Study in Scarlet" takes up an entire CD; it's followed by a second live CD of shorter pieces and a disc of studio work.

* Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Tony Bianco -- "Salamander" [excerpt] -- Vesuvius (Slam Productions, 2005)

Really nice free-improv session, a quartet led by Von Schlippenbach on piano. The CD is two long cuts, each with lots of dynamics and a rich group sound. Impressive stuff from four veterans of the craft.

Quick pop song with piano, morose.

! Lou Rawls -- "Sweet Slumber" -- Portrait of the Blues (Manhattan, 1994)

The album closer, a soaring sentimental track. We'll miss you, Lou.

The funky side of Derek! Tacuma's electric bass lays down some great funky lines that Weston complements well -- but all in an untethered free-jazz kind of context. Great stuff, often played at middling tempos that let you savor what's going on. This is an awesome and surprising session that almost draws (gasp) normal melodies and rhythm out of Derek Bailey's guitar. Big fun, and not a bad place to start if you're just getting initiated to Derek Bailey.

* Anthony Braxton and Wolter Frank -- "Improvisation 2" [excerpt] -- 4 Improvisations (Duets) 2004 (Leo, 2005)

Derek Bailey and Min Xiao-Fen -- "Zhu Ye" -- Viper (Avant, 1998)

Xiao-Fen plays the pipa, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, but here she plays in very non-traditional ways, slashing and stabbing like Bailey does. She's quite familiar with this territory, having played in lots of free-jazz contexts, including some sessions in the Bay Area with folks like Glenn Spearman, according to the DJ notes provided by Cat.

Soaring, pretty soundscape. Played it because I'd seen a news item that Fripp is doing some soundscapes to go along with the Windows Vista OS release that's due out from Microsoft in ... who knows when. Anyway, good excuse to give a soundscape a spin. Red West, who did the show before mine, coincidentally ended his program with a soundscape off the David Sylvian/Robert Fripp album The First Day. And he didn't even know about the Vista thing. Plate o' shrimp.

Bailey did duo CDs with just about everybody, and this is one of my favorites. Steve Lacy just has such a strong melodic pull, and the contrast with Bailey's prickly, atonal style makes for some engaging improvisation here. In fact, they're most effective when they don't try to match each other's styles or direction; the best moments come from contrasting styles carefully played against each other. It does not sound as if you're playing a solo Lacy record and a solo Bailey record simultaneously; there's some real dialogue here. This track starts with 5 minutes of solo guitar (which I had to skip, for time purposes) and then 8 minutes of duetting with some of Lacy's best playing on the CD.

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.