Search - Derek Bailey :: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Interesting Concept.

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 08/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"British guitarist Derek Bailey has been long associated with the avant-garde jazz scene for nearly 40 years. His unique approach to guitar playing is instantly recognisable with its abstract melodies, atonal runs, feedback, harmonics and volume swells.

With "Carpal Tunnel", his latest disc, we find the 75-year old guitarist performing with a minor handicap. All of the pieces were recorded and performed while Bailey was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in his right hand. Each of titles of the pieces refer to how many weeks had lapsed since he was first inflicted with CTS. There is even an introductory explanation at the beginning of the disc in which Bailey somewhat randomly explans the idea behind the music while improvising guitar phrases over his speech.

Upon listening to the music, you would be hard pressed to think that there was anything wrong with Bailey as he was performing this music. All of his musical trademarks are in tact without any sign of being sluggish. In the end, it is a typical Derek Bailey solo guitar album.

While much of his music (including this CD) is somewhat difficult to sit through, long time fans of Derek Bailey will no doubt be intruiged by "Carpal Tunnel". He definitely overcame a huge obsticle by being able to record this album.

In the end, it's not a fantastic CD but definitely one that is par for the course."

A fascinating and personal journey

Steward Willons | Illinois | 07/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bailey's music has always mystified me. While I can appreciate his totally unique approach to the guitar in a conceptual sense, it doesn't quite grab me in a musical sense. That's not to say there isn't amazing music happen - just that in my subjective opinion, it doesn't appeal to me in the same way that it does to some listeners.



If I'm not exactly a devoted Bailey fan, why am I reviewing his album? The unique conceptual nature of "Carpal Tunnel" appealed to what I really appreciate from Bailey's music and thus I felt this was the first of his records that I thought I could actually review.



The idea of an artist presenting a personal and very real journey against adversity is inherently fascinating. The format is fairly clear from the track titles alone (explanation, after 3 weeks, after 5 weeks, etc.). It's less of an album of music and more of a journal and personal narrative. In that sense, it works at both a conceptual and a gut level.



The music seems to be consistent with Bailey's style of improvisation, even if he doesn't have access to his usual technique. Jagged lines of oblique melody ride on top of strange chordal clusters with a rhythmic sense that can only be described as singular. Even if Bailey's technique has fundamentally changed, his musical sense remains intact."

An interesting record.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 08/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Derek Bailey is someone whose music I'm somewhat unfamiliar with-- he has performed with a number of musicians whose work I enjoy (John Zorn, Cecil Taylor, David Sylvian), and a few years ago I purchased one of his records that I didn't really care for. More recently though, it seems I've been listening to a lot more of Bailey's work, and after having recently read a revelatory interview him (in The Wire I think) where I realized that if nothing else, we were kindred spirits in our taste in music, I decided to give it another try. As such, I am approaching my review as an outsider rather than an insider.



"Carpal Tunnel", conceptually, is an interesting record. Bailey has been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, rendering him unable to correctly hold a plectrum. This recording, presented as a letter to "Carol" (I have no idea who that is), is a demonstration of Bailey exploring his new guitar technique-- fingerpicking. Evidentally, Bailey has worked pretty much exclusively with a plectrum ("pick") in developing his unique vocabulary. This record documents his exploration, opening with a voice-over-disjoint guitar track to thank Carol for sending something and explain what this recording is (it's positively revalatory in learning about the man in its own way), followed by several tracks, each documenting how long it's been since some event related-- whether this is his diagnosis with carpal tunnel syndome, his decision to explore fingerpicking, or when he recorded the opener, I really don't know.



Either way, its a fascinating portrait of the man's music-- his style (and Bailey was always a stylist) is readily apparent. At 75, he's lost none of his fire as a player. The earlier recordings on the record find him a bit tentative, exploratory to be sure, and definitely feeling his way around, but what's amazing is that even early on it starts to cook. By "After 7 Weeks", it's quite got your attention, and the tracks improve as they go on.



All in all, it's quite an enjoyable record, definitely worth the investment to pick up."