Derek Bailey    [Photo by Peter Gannushkin]

Recently, I came across the phrase 'pluralism from a single vision,' That might do as a description of what I try to do.

I've looked to play in such a manner as to be able to take part - to be constructive, to be able to contribute - in any kind of freely improvised context. My playing has developed out of different improvising situations. If there are people I would like to play with but might not be able to play with, I take that to mean I need to change or expand what I do. So, it's perfectly logical - in fact central - for me to work at different times with a jazz tap dancer, with a Japanese rock group, with a funk duo, with a classical percussionist, with a DJ and with a Chinese pipa player - all recent playing alliances. These, and also other unrelated and often contradictory playing encounters, are why I play how I play, and, as they are also my pleasure, why I play. I don't adopt an idiomatic disguise in order to join these people in their worlds - in fact, my main interest might stem from discovering if, and how, I can integrate my 'identity' with an unfamiliar context but the ground we share is one which I hope will be unique to them and to me.