Bailey/Lacy - Outcome

[gnhrtg]

Derek Bailey - Electric guitar
Steve Lacy - Soprano saxophone
on Potlatch, recorded live (1983)

(I cannot access the old threads and so do not know whether this was already covered there)

The album has 5 tracks ranging from 5 to 16 minutes for a total of around one hour from this duo.

I don't have much Bailey to talk of but in terms of the way Lacy plays I find this CD to be a real gem in terms of him (characteristically) sticking to a basic idea and playing around with it. This is immediately, and most strikingly, apparent in the first cut .

I do find the interplay to be at quite a high level and if one does listen to the album one track at a time, it gets apparent that these people are really playing with their ears wide open.

Most people who are fans of either (or both) probably already know about this album but if you do like the playing of either, I would very strongly recommend this CD as it is very rewarding (especially if you listen to it track by track, but that is none of my business in the end). I'm now listening to the first track, which is 16 minutes long, and I find it hard to believe that there is not one boring or repetitive moment, if it's not Bailey playing something interesting, then it's Lacy and vice versa.

If anyone reading this has not heard the output of either musician here, Lacy is the kind of player who really is a continous melody generator and since he plays the soprano saxophone (though that in itself does not necessitate this) his playing would be more listenable for newcomers as it is less intense. Although maybe a more conventional introduction might be him playing Monk tunes with a band, or his duo with Waldron called "Let's Call This...", I'm no Bailey expert so no comments there.

Do get this CD, I'm quite sure it won't disappoint. Questions welcome.

[Sergio Zamora]

Yeah, this is very good. I got this the same time I got another Potlatch - "No Waiting" with Bailey and Joelle Leandre. I have to give the Bailely/Leandre an edge, but they're both excellent.

[Martin]

Back in the heyday of free improv (1970s/80s) Steve Lacy was one of the few musicians (Han Bennink being another) who was ascribed not to get outplayed by Derek Bailey in a duo constellation - due to his exceptionally strong personality and his stubbornness.

Some critics construed that stubbornness (of both Lacy and Bailey) in a negative way by maintaining that the two didn't really get together when playing together (i.e. each one doing very much his own thing).

I do not second the argument unreservedly, though the minutes when Bailey plays solo are among Outcome's most enjoyable passages (to my ears, that is).

[Paul B]

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