I don't think the new Derek Bailey album has been mentioned on the list, so a quick note to say how much I have enjoyed it. Like the reviews say only John Zorn could have persuaded Bailey to make an album of Ballads and the result is wonderful. IMHO there is no feeling of crash editing two styles of music just a gentle flow in and out of the tunes through Bailey's wonderful improvisation. I thought his comment on the sleeve notes was interesting: "I am not interested in Improvised Music with a capital I and a capital M, I am interested in improvising." Having played most of these tunes in a fairly straight setting and got to know them pretty well this performance opened my eyes afresh. Shame the sleeve typography makes it almost impossible to read all the details. Richard Gardner