During the 1960s, he recorded with (among others) Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Peter Nero, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz and Marion Brown.

[3] In the 1970s, he was a member of the well-regarded and influential group "The Trio", with saxophonist John Surman and drummer Stu Martin.

[1] In the 1980s and 1990s, he played regularly with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, led by fellow bassist Barry Guy.

He worked on soundtracks of the motion pictures Merry-Go-Round (1981), Naked Lunch (1991, together with Ornette Coleman) and Alles was baumelt, bringt Glück!

[4] He had also worked with bassists Peter Kowald and Joëlle Léandre; guitarist Derek Bailey; clarinetists Theo Jörgensmann, Vinny Golia, and Aurélien Besnard; saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker and Joe Maneri; and pianists Bob James and Paul Bley.