2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 3 of 3

2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 3 of 3

From Deep Focus by Small Media Large

March 8, 2026 · 1h 2m · Episode 443

About this episode

Mazz Swift discusses the innovative compositional language of Butch Morris and the concept of 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…

People in this episode

Host: Mitch Goldman

Guest: Mazz Swift

Topics covered

  • improvisation
  • compositional language
  • Butch Morris
  • musical spontaneity
  • Mazz Swift
  • Conduction

Keywords

  • Butch Morris
  • Mazz Swift
  • Conduction
  • improvisation
  • musical language
  • real-time composition
  • WKCR

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: WKCR

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