2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 2 of 3
About this episode
Mazz Swift discusses the innovative compositional language of Butch Morris and its impact on improvisation in music.
Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical ideas using physical gestures. His system, which he called "Conduction," was immediately transformative. He created compositions in real time that were shaped by the musical language and the performances of the participating musicians. It was an unprecedented musical spontaneity. Butch Morris died in 2013, but Conduction is still making new breakthroughs in the hands of successive generations of musical thinkers. Violinist/composer Mazz Swift, who worked with Butch Morris, is one of them. New forms and ideas continually emerge, and Butch Morris endures as a shaping influence. This Monday (Jan. 19), Mazz Swift joins host Mitch Goldman for a Deep Focus on Butch Morris. Do the vast WKCR archives contain live, unreleased recordings of Butch Morris? We certainly hope so! Tune in to find out. Deep…
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