The most recent time I heard him play was last August at the 291 Gallery - his playing made me grin at least twice. The first time was when I lived in Hackney 15 or more years ago. He ran regular Saturday morning concerts on the Lower Clapton Road at a long-gone venue called the Oasis Wine Bar. I saw him play with the likes of Steve Noble, Alex Marshall, Pat Thomas and a host of other guests. The experience was ongoingly ear-opening. I recall the proximity of the players, just a few feet away - which proved dangerous sometimes when Steve Noble was swinging vacuum cleaner tubes round our heads. Much of the place was dark, chairs stacked in the corners, the audience small, but committed. I also saw the last Company week at the Place Theatre off Euston Road, the festival of free improv that he organised for a while. I know it's crass as hell, but I find myself comparing Derek Bailey to Samuel Beckett. Both achieved a hard-won freedom out on the liminal edge of things. Both now have their ultimate freedom. I'm sure he'd laugh at such sentimentality.