I think playing solo is a second rate activity, really. For me, playing is about playing with other people.

In fact it's quite gratifying for me to see some of the people who really objected to this method of working now being quite so profligate in their use of it.

Even if it is difficult playing with other people - sometimes it's great, sometimes it isn't, but that is kind of the point of it. It loses its point playing solo.

Personally, I've found one of the more stimulating ways of playing in recent times has been to kind of move outside the free improvised area and work with people who are probably improvisers but they have a particular way of working.

I don't research anything.

The first Company concert was a single concert with a quartet who all knew each other, although they didn't play together regularly.