Daedal

a review by dan hill of
release format Daedal by Susie Ibarra, Derek Bailey (CD Album)

text

Derek Bailey's book "Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music" mentions in passing that opinions on free music range from it's "the simplest thing in the world requiring no explanation, to ... it is complicated beyond discussion". I note that it's difficult for me to describe it either way! So I won't attempt to "put the music into words" - it's free improvisation, over seven guitar and drum duets, featuring Derek Bailey and Susie Ibarra. Whether you can imagine what it's going to sound like or not, it's worth listening to. I was lucky enough to witness these two live at Barcelona's Abaixador Dou in January. A smart little club, a largely appreciate crowd and an electric performance from Bailey and Ibarra. And the next day, in an episode of accidental voyeurism, I spotted them in animated discussion in a coffeeshop on La Rambla, Bailey warmly spinning stories with Ibarra brightly and excitedly interjecting. Whether they were discussing the show or the sumptuous chocolates, I'll never know. But it was interesting, and entertaining, to briefly see their friendly interaction and conversational style echoing the previous night's performance. They're clearly on the same wavelength, which is tribute to Bailey's open-mindedness and versatility, but perhaps more so to the prodigious Ibarra's talents. Smart enough to work with the likes of Yo La Tengo as well as the cream of the more traditional improv scene, she's clearly going places. Her playing is utterly in sync with Bailey, using a vast range of percussion, particularly a battery of shaker-like devices, gently damped thudded rolls, and perfectly executed washes of cymbal (utterly belying the notion that as a percussive device it's limited to a sharp attack/decay over short duration, in a similar sense to Steve Reich's attempts to extend percussion in his Sextet (1985) or even Thomas Köner and Max Eastley's Gong Tower in the current Sonic Boom exhibition). Over the course of a piece of music, she really seems to travel, perhaps best illustrated on the standout performance here, the 10-minute "Winger".

Compared with 1975's "Improvisation" (recently re-released by Ampersand), the consistency of Derek Bailey's playing is remarkable, still pursuing his unique musical visions 25 years later. Clearly enjoying it too - his playing here is as sharply angular, mobile, and, well, talkative as I've heard him. The guitar tone has changed slightly - it's still utterly, nakedly, honest but it's a far more electric sound here, occasionally veering into distortion, employing harmonics and volume swells to fully extend the instrument. Despite, or because of, his lack of gadgetry, the guitar's sound is rarely explored more than in Bailey's hands. Seeing them live also exposes Bailey's sharp wit, belying the gravely academic "elder statesman" image he can be labelled with, and this comes through in the music. I'll add that I enjoy watching and listening to improv, more than simply listening (as with experiencing John Zorn's game pieces - incidentally this album is dedicated to Zorn). However, this is a great recording of a great duo, and this is truly modern music. Posted by dan hill at 00:00, 28 May 2000