INTERVIEW
Rebecca Meek
Questions For...
Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris
By Heather Corcoran
Composer, conductor and musician Lawrence
D. “Butch” Morris has reinvented the way jazz
is performed. His style, which he calls Conduc-
tion—a combination of conduction and improvi-
sation—uses symbolic gestures to guide musicians,
with Morris playing the role of both “soloist and
member of the ensemble.” Last week the innovator
was feted with a concert at the Bowery Ballroom to
celebrate his 60th birthday.
How is Conduction different from
conducting?
BM: A traditional conductor interprets mu-
sic; we make music. Traditional orchestras re-
hearse what they perform; we do not.
New York and jazz are so tied togeth-
er. As an artist, you have spent much of
your career in New York. How does the
city influence you? Inspire you?
BM: Inspiration is not something you get, it
is something you acknowledge. I think that we
are all inspired people, but some don’t care to
acknowledge or investigate it. Jazz is a form I
have chosen to investigate and it has brought
me this far. If you don’t have questions, you
don’t get far. New York is a meeting point for
all concerned, I brought questions and I meet
people. New York is a city for realists and do-
ers, not for dreamers.
You make a point to differentiate be-
tween improvisation and interpretation
as it relates to Conduction.
BM: My interest lies in that area between
16 • Resident The Week Of February 19, 2007
improvisation and notation: where the inter- You talk about music in terms more
pretation of the symbolism that generates no- often associated with literature and
tation meets with the spontaneity of improvisa- language – interpretation, symbols,
tion; and in the evolution of the ensemble, and vocabulary, dialect, etc. – could you ex-
of the individual and collective identities and plain that?
expressions that constitute music, musicianship BM: When I was developing the vocabu-
and music making for a far greater expression lary of Conduction I realized that there was
in the sonic arts. not one music book that could tell me what I
wanted to know.
You’ve compared Conduction to pick- Physics, architecture, linguistics and lit-
ing up a book and reading from any page erature on law (among many) gave me the
that catches your attention language with which to un-
or focusing on a detail in a derstand and describe an ex-
painting, why is it important Learn more pression unstated. In other
to break from the traditional about Morris and words, I needed to know more
way of approaching a work of about what I was feeling and
art as a whole?
Conduction at attempting to express … and I
BM: I in no way want to break conduction.us. needed to look everywhere for
from the convention of “beginning that information.
to end.” I believe in total under-
standing. However, I do believe that the interpreta- What are the best places in the city to
tion of a work, once understood, could be construct- hear new music?
ed from (almost) anyplace on the page. A wonder- BM: The best place to hear new music is
ful example of this would be John Coltrane’s many between your ears, the best places to “see”
interpretations of “My Favorite Things.” new music is wherever you find it ... it is ev-
erywhere in this city.
Not only do you collaborate with differ-
ent musicians, but other artists in different What records do you consider essen-
media. Why is it important to investigate tial for any collection?
these types of interactions? BM: If I name one I will have to name
BM: The senses are to be educated just like the 100. There are so many masters at what they
mind … all of the arts deal with the senses among do.
other things. The connection of the senses helps
to determine your (creative) outlook and therefore What’s next for you?
affects and influences the mind. This is also true of BM: I have an orchestra waiting for me in
the listener. Italy!