Bailey, Derek
- Roger Dean
- , revised by Simon Adams
Extract
(b Sheffield, England, Jan 29, 1932; d London, Dec 25, 2005). English guitarist. His grandfather and uncle were both professional musicians, and Bailey was first involved in commercial music and conventional jazz. In 1966 he moved to London to play free jazz with John Stevens, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, and others. He joined the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, and from 1968 to 1973 belonged to Tony Oxley’s sextet; together they explored technical innovations and new sound resources, Oxley on acoustic and amplified percussion and Bailey on acoustic and electric guitars. Concurrently from 1968 to 1971 he was a member of the Music Improvisation Company. In 1970 Bailey formed the trio Iskra 1903 with Rutherford and Barry Guy, and founded the record label Incus with Oxley and Parker. In 1976 he formed the ensemble Company, bringing together groups of British and international improvisers for unstructured improvisation; an annual Company Week was held in London most years from ...
