At Roulette, *Improv Nights 2026: A Tribute to Derek Bailey (night 1)* frames live classical performance through the lens of Bailey’s legacy in free improvisation. Curated by Wendy Eisenberg, the night treats Bailey less as repertory and more as a method: listening, interruption, and risk become the material. Bailey’s long influence on New York’s experimental guitar and downtown music scenes gives the tribute local weight, even without a specific NYC premiere claim. The program’s plainspoken structure makes a quiet argument about authorship and spontaneity.