After making his debut record for Incus Original Gravity, Bevan returned to the label with a new trio, joined by Steve Noble on percussion (Ya Boo, False Face) and Paul Rogers on bass. Quick intuition, a broad dynamic spectrum, and dazzling tonal colors. On a canvas of metallic percussion by Steve Noble, Bevan manipulates his striated tone like a painter adjusting brush strokes- some sounds are long, wide, and spacious, others squat and impossibly dense. This is at the relatively louder end on Bevan's work on Incus - especially when compared to Bevan / Bailey collabs like Limescale and Good Cop, Bad Cop.  --- Paul Rogers / double bassSteve Noble / percussionTony Bevan / saxophones --- Recorded on 25th July 1991 at Holywell Music Room by Michael Gerzon. Produced by Steve Noble & Tony Bevan. Designed by Steve Noble. Photography By Thomi Wroblewski. Post Production by John Hadden

"The Levis are accomplished masters of the warp-speed sound bite: 26 of them here, set out like a board of weird sushi. Though most clock in at between 30 seconds and pop-single length, there are two more substantial tracks in the middle of the set- the combative "All Against All" and "Lady Ms Girl Shine"- which confirm that this isn't just a comic put on." - Penguin Guide to Jazz --- Bob Stagner / percussion, fiddle, zither, cymbal, rototoms, drum machine, violin, cowbell Dennis Palmer / synthesizers, drum machine, effects  --- Tracklisting: 1. The Popcorn Gomer - 1:242. Rev Jim's Belly - 1:203. Quarrelsome Brother Love - 0:324. Sunday School Breakfast - 1:575. Green Eyed Lovely Chimp - 1:446. Big For My Size - 2:037. Humming Devil - 2:098. Bullet Proof Cross - 5:409. Dob On Ah Stob - 1:2910. All Sweet Like Babies - 1:4311. Vampires Like To Bite - 1:5712. Tiny Tarkus - 1:4313. Magic Pulpit Ride - 1:0814. All Against All - 7:4815. Lady Ms. Girl Shine - 4:0316. Heart Beam - 2:0417. Sissy Gladiators - 1:3918. Hip Oh Critter - 2:1619. Two Cycle Hell Harp - 0:4720. Jumping Devil "Seven Examples" - 1:5521. Merry Dang Soul - 1:3222. Astral Peeper - 1:0923. Where's The Bible? - 1:5524. Catbird Technique - 2:1325. Lil' Hellbender - 1:5926. Corpse O' Earth - 2:43 --- Produced by Ray Norwood. Tracks 1 to 11 were recorded mixed and engineered at the Sound Lab, Chattanooga, Tennessee, January-April 1992. Tracks 12 to 26 were recorded in Palmer's basement in June 1992.

"Well a word you used that started with an A, that's like a four letter work to me. I don't even say that word no more...I tried to get a gig at the Blue Note...and they used that word again, they used that word, and then they said, well he's part of that word and that's the reason he can't get a gig at the Blue Note." - David Murray on the evils of the word avant-garde, quoted in the booklet notes to 'A Sanctuary Within' (Black Saint, 1992) --- Alan Wilkinson / alto & baritone saxophone Stefan Jaworzyn / electric guitar --- Recorded by Giles Perring at Red Rose Club, February 27, 1996. Mastered by Dennis Blackham and Country Masters. Artwork by Gina Southgate. Cover design by Alan Wilkinson, Karen Brookman, Stefan Jaworzyn

"John, Kent and I played only once as a trio, a convert in November 1992, and this is the recording of it. We Planned more work as a trio and John was in the process of setting up some others at the time of his death. So, as it turned out, it was just the one time." - Derek Bailey --- Derek Bailey / electric guitar John Stevens / drums & mini trumpet Kent Carter / bass --- Recorded November 1992, Leicester, England.

"Continuous change is the hallmark of Bert's musical practice. His sonic version of perpetual motion turns up in many dimensions at once - timbral, rhythmic, gestural, melodic, rhetorical, dramatic, and much more - so that playing with Bert often becomes a matter of finding, somewhere, a sound that he isn't playing at the moment, a sound that you can grab onto as a life preserver to save you from getting smoked right out the room." - George Lewis --- George E. Lewis / trombone Bertram Turetzky / contrabass --- Recorded by Sonic Solutions November 26th 1997. Design & layout by Karen Brookman. Photograph of George Lewis by Betty Freeman. 

"Exemplary studio sound as England's most adept and creative trio encounter the nouveau-guitar wizard from Sharon, Massachusetts. The rhythm players dive into a bluesy, groovy mesh of bass/guitar twangs, tinder which Alan Wilkinson's vocalised sax fumes and ignites Brötzmania with added humour and colouration. Joe Morris's notes fly like pips squeezed from an orange, his native lyricism stressed into steel by the surrounding tensions. Bows And Buttons closes with a savage baritone outburst that balances what's preceded with staggering aesthetic precision." - Ben Watson --- Alan Wilkinson / saxophonesSimon Fell / double bassPaul Hession / drumsJoe Morris / guitar --- Recorded at The Blizzard Condition [for the Termite Club], Leeds 14th June 1996 by Damien Bowskill.

"In 1980, when these four pieces were recorded, John Zorn and I had been playing together for about three years. Four pieces from two different concerts are presented in their entirety. Now I wouldn't dream of touching them, but from my 80's notebook scribbling I can see that although we certainly were enamoured with these duets and thought they were better than anyting anybody else was doing (a musicians right!) we at the same time saw the process as sort of dispensible: another duet concert would be coming around the corner, it might be even better, maybe one day a good recording might get made out of one. Now I listen to these pieces and hear them as complete and perfect, and I wonder how we were able to create them in the midst of such confusion, insecurity and indifference. But hey, the pay was great! My notes indicate John and I split $30 for one of these shows." - Eugene Chadbourne, 1996.  --- John Zorn / saxophones, balloons, bucket Eugene Chadbourne / dobro, acoustic & electric guitar, contact microphones --- Recorded in the state of New York 1980.

They first played together at the Little Theatre Club, London, in the 1960's, and then not at all until the 1980's when their path crossed often: workshops and concerts in France in 1984, a tour of Italy by Company in 1986, in 1987 Company Week in London, a duo performance at Crawley Festival in 1988 and a duo tour, in 1989, in the North of England. These recordings were made during Company Week 1987 and at Crawley Festival 1988.  --- Derek Bailey / guitar Barre Philips / bass --- a & b recorded at the Arts Theatre, London, on Tuesday May 12th, 1987 by Michael Gerzon. c & d recorded at Hawth Centre, Crawley, England on Sunday 4th September 1988 by Michael Gerzon. Post production by John Hadden. Cover drawing by Tony Monstrom. Photographs & layout by Karen Brookman. 

Collection of Bailey duos from shows across London in 2001.  --- Alan Wilkinson / baritone saxophone, voice (track 1)Derek Bailey / electric guitar (tracks 1 & 2), acoustic guitar (track 3)Roger Turner / percussion (track 2)Julian Kytasty / bandura, flute (track 3) --- Track 1 recorded by Tim Fletcher on 23rd March 2001 at Flim Flam Club, London. Track 2 recorded by Tim Fletcher on 2nd March 2001 at the October Gallery, London. Track 3 recorded by Toby Hrtycek-Robinson on October 2001 at St Michael and All Angels Church, London. Post production by Toby Hrtycek-Robinson. Design & layout by Karen Brookman. 

Beautifully recorded '92 sessions of dynamic and subtle interaction between Derek Bailey and drummer and mini-trumpeter John Stevens.  "This lovely duet between avant guitar kingpin Derek Bailey and drummer/trumpet player John Stevens is a fine example of what Bailey was up to in the early '90s, before he discovered drum'n'bass and Bill Laswell, among other things. While the date is, as usual, completely improvised, relying more on nuance, texture, and timing than tonality, subtle timbral studies are evident, particularly in the middle of the recording on "Ping Pong" (where Bailey forgoes the electric guitar entirely and concentrates instead on the refracted timbres of an acoustic, and Stevens mutes his trumpet and plays percussion with his other hand in the exact center of spaces Bailey vacates." - Thom Jurek, All Music --- John Stevens / drums, cornet, mini Trumpet Derek Bailey / electric & acoustic guitar --- Recorded August 14th, 1992 at the Watershed Studios, London, by Richie Stevens. Post production by John Hadden. Design by Karen Brookman. Artwork By [Drawing 'UIIU'] by John Stevens.

"I met Derek at Clinton Studio and we started recording. I remember that my playing felt stiff at first, but I told myself to watch, listen and try to a have dialog with him and most importantly to follow my feelings. I still remember, during the middle of one track, Derek broke a string. I thought he might stop, but he continued playing, using the broken string to scratch on the frets. The results sounded incredible, they came out on Avant, and this followed. Derek and I went on tour playing concerts in Berlin, Graz and other European cities. I learned so much from him." --- Derek Bailey / guitar Min Xiao-Fen / pipa --- Recorded by Ben Bailes. Post Production by Toby Hrycek-Robinson and Ben Bailes. Design & layout by Karen Brookman. Recorded N.Y.C. November 1999

Brilliant duo from underrated cellist Tristan Honsinger and Bailey. The latter tracks (7-13) came out on the wonderful Duo LP (INCUSLP20), and the proceeding documents some the pair's first duets - equally as captivating. There are parralels between this record and fellow sometime Parisian string pkayer Joelle Leandre's Taxi, but really, Honsinger's voice is like no other - there's less revulsion than Minton, and more slapstick. Bailey on Waiswich Crackle Box on track 12 is a real treat. --- "The first time I heard Tristan was when I joined a group of startled listeners surrounding a cello player playing on the street in Massey, a small town a few miles south of Paris. It was about then that I realised had there been no such thing as free improvisation, Tristan Honsinger would have invented it.  I was in Massey to play on a concert made up entirely of solo guitar players; a situation obviously leaving a lot of room for improvement. It was to that end that I invited Tristan to play with me on the concert and it was my great fortune that he agreed and we've played together in all kinds of situations since.  The Massy tracks are from that concert. The other tracks are from Duo, the record we made he following year (Incus LP 20) and date from a time when judicious editing, post production and allied techinical sophistications had not yet entered recorded improvised music, and are issues precisely as we put them out in 1976." - Derek Bailey, August, 2002.  --- Derek Bailey / electric guitar, 19 string (approx) guitar, Waiswich Crackle Box on track 12) Tristan Honsinger / cello, voice --- Tracks 1 - 6 recorded October 26 1975. Tracks 7-13 recorded by Bob Woolford 6th & 7th February 1976. Artwork by tony Monstrom. Design and layout by Tony Monstrom & Karen Brookman.   

Low volume, textural interplay between London improvisors Butcher, Derek Bailey & tuba player Oren Marshall. Comparatively short improvisations that are characterised by their laid-back restraint and taste.  --- Derek Bailey / acoustic guitar, electric guitar John Butcher / tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone Oren Marshall / tuba --- Recorded at UPS STUDIO, London. Design by & 3media, Karen Brookman. Photography By Karen Brookman, Yuhij Itsumi, Caroline Forbes, Thomi Wroblevski. Post Production by Martin Davidson

"During March 1986, Han Bennink and I played a short tour of England - eight concerts in seven days. Of the many times we have played together over the past twenty years or so, this was probably my favourite bout. For of these concerts were recorded and this disc is a compilation of five excerpts from these concerts. There is no attempt to disguise the edits but the music is presented as two continuous pieces - the way we usually played each concert." - Derek Bailey.  --- Tracklisting: Melancholy Babes, part 1 - 26:09 Melancholy Babes, part 2 - 30:25 --- Melancholy Babes, part 1 consists of three recordings made by members of the audience at three concerts; by Eddie Klak at Essex University, by Chris Atton at The Carmarthen, Leeds and by Michael Gerson at Soho Poly Theatre, London. At Incus, we feel that the techincal variability which is unavoidable side-effect of this method is more than compensated by their acheivement, unusual in recordings of this kind of music, in capturing something of the atmosphere of what went on. We hope you think so too. Melancholy Babes, part 2 was recorded by Michael Gerson at Bethnal Green Music Library, London, in a more orthodox manner. All the recordings were made between 15-22 March, 1986.  --- Post Production: Michael Gerson and John Haddon Cover Drawing: Anthony Monstrom Design: Karen Brookman  ---

Inspired by Bailey's duo with Han Bennink, Sonic Pleasure (Marie-Angelique Bueler) and T.H.F Drenching sent a brick-and-dictaphone improvisation they’d recorded in a Liverpool Airport disabled toilet to Bailey. Bailey, impressed by the collage artwork and a Manchester postcode, sent them his number and invited them to play at his house on Downs Road, with a very young Alex Ward and Tony Bevan. Built on the percussive duo of Pleasure and Drenching, what follows is one of the weirdest and most underrated Incus records.  "Recording it was lovely. We just did it more-or-less straight through. I think there was only one tune that we didn't include. Derek was in a good mood, and he'd brought mince pies for everyone since it was coming up to Christmas 2002. Everyone's playing really well, all of us are communicating really well. I was proud that Derek let me come up with the titles and the band name I miss Derek, because I didn't feel at all like I'd finished playing with him.”  -THF Drenching, 2017 “At the launch of the Incus CD Limescale aboard Sybil Madrigal’s Boat-Ting venue on the Thames I heard some punters complain at the back: ‘Where’s Derek? I came to see Derek Bailey and I can’t see or hear him!’ It was difficult to explain that, with Limescale, Derek had found the nirvana he stumbled on in drummer John Stevens’s Spontaneous Music Ensemble: the extinction of the ego in a musical collective. Limescale was built on the foundation of the Bueler–Calton rhythm section as surely as the SME was founded on Stevens (or the Joseph Holbrooke Trio on Oxley), and Derek loved it. So right near the end, he rediscovered the collectivity which he’d enjoyed when he first played free music in London.” –Ben Watson --- Tony Bevan / bass clarinet Alex Ward / clarinet Derek Bailey / guitar Sonic Pleasure / bricks T.H.F Drenching / dictaphone --- Recorded at The Moat Studio, London in December 2002 by Toby Hrycek-Robinson. Layout and design by Karen Brookman-Bailey.

Released in 1998, this was Bailey's first solo record after the magical number of 7 years - realised after a long period of playing with just about anybody that made sense to him. The artwork for the original CD is just textures in greyscale, the font Times New Roman and on the inside sleeve of there are no notes, just the word 'listen' in lower case. Ken Hollings wrote in The Wire upon its release, "this is the end of a dialogue."  'Takes, Fakes' starts with an abrasive 13 min live recording from a '97 concert and builds through eight gaunt and nuanced acoustic studio cuts, each snipped and selected by Steve Beresford. Once we get to 'Dead She Dances', arguably the keystone track on the record, each miniature starts to make sense as Bailey reads a deathly description of a female from his pal Peter Riley's poetry book 'Distant Point'. By the time he picks up his electric Gibson it feels like the perfect solo release - super raw and with purpose. A gem from '98 for sure. In fact, Brian Olewnick called it the best record of 1998. Oosh.   --- Derek Bailey / guitar --- 1 & 10 from a solo concert recorded by Paul Tyson, September 1997. 2-9 studio recordings by Dave Hunt, produced by Steve Beresford, May 1997.  Post Production by Tony Robinson, and desgin and layout by Karen Brookman.  Acoustic guitar built by German cello maker Henner Hardenberger.  Electric on 10 is a Gibson 175. 

“There was no letter, it was just 45 minutes of him practising, of the music - first he was sending it to me and then I was sending one back. Very simple, like how you answer a letter or send someone a postcard. Like a language. But the idea is you shouldn’t listen to it before hand, you should react to it like you’d react on stage. Of course, you could fake it, but knowing him I know he wouldn’t bother. I played with the machine the right away, the first time, not the first time or the second time because you know certain details and that’s not nice. I was living in a shed at the time. I’d been living in that shed for something like eight years. Almost no electricity, one bulb, no toilet. Very weird circumstances, like Vincent van Gogh [laughs] But I like the countryside, I hate the city. The city is nothing for me, it makes me nervous. So I was in the countryside, ‘writing’ to Derek.” – Han Bennink, 2017. --- Derek Bailey / acoustic & electric guitar Han Bennink / percussion --- Recording & artwork uncredited. Han's notes from the CD insert below.  ---