LAWRENCE D. "BUTCH" MORRIS CONDUCTION® No. 156, NEW HAVEN |
Lawrence D.
"Butch" Morris is one of
the leading innovators in the confluence of jazz, new music,
improvisation and
contemporary classical music. Mr.
Morris's work redefines the roles of composer, conductor, arranger and
performer, and bridges the gap between the composer, the improviser and
the
classically oriented musician. Since 1974, his career has been
distinguished by
unique and outstanding international contributions to television, film,
theater, dance, radio, interdisciplinary collaborations, concerts and
recordings. He has worked with countless musicians and composers,
choreographers, visual artists, writers, theater and film directors and
performers. As a composer, he is widely known for his notated
compositions and
has been especially acclaimed for pioneering and developing the art of
Conduction®.
Conduction®
(conducted
interpretation/improvisation)
is a vocabulary of ideographic signs and gestures activated to modify
or
construct a realtime musical arrangement or composition.
Each sign and gesture transmits generative
information for interpretation, and provides instantaneous
possibilities for
altering or initiating harmony, melody, rhythm, articulation, phrasing
or form.
Employing more than
4,000 musicians in 22 countries and 62 cities, resulting in 22 CDs over
a 20-year period, Conduction® has amply demonstrated its capacity
for cultural diplomacy by uniting communities and serving as a powerful
example of a new social logicbased on collective interpretation and
personal interaction. Mr. Morris has formed notable collaborations with
such masters as:
Musicians/composers: Alice Coltrane, Gil
Evans, Philly Jo Jones, Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, David Murray, Don
Pullen, ReggieWorkman, Agusti Fernandez;
Choreographers: Min Tanaka, Fred
Holland, Dianne McIntyre, Sally Silvers, Donna Uchizono, KazuoOhno,
Blondell Cummings, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center;
Visual
Artists:
Alison Saar, David Hammons, A.R.Penck, Markus Luperts, Jorg
Immendorf; Theater/Film: Avery Brooks, Harold Scott, Christoph
Marthaler, Michael Kahn, AlessandroCassin, Robert Altman, The Wooster
Group;
Writers:
Allan Graubard,
Greg Tate, Jessica Hagedorn, Ntozake Shange, Javier Barreiro,Sekou
Sundiata.