Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings.

Biography

Morris was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, United States. Before beginning his musical career, he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

as a medic in Germany, Japan and Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Morris came to attention with

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

David Murray's groups in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Morris's brother,

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

ist

Wilber Morris Wilber Morris (November 27, 1937 - August 8, 2002) was an American jazz double bass player and bandleader. He was the brother of the cornetist, composer, and conductor Butch Morris.Allmusic/ref> Wilber Morris recorded widely, and performed with ...

, sometimes performed and recorded with Murray during this period. Morris led a group called Orchestra SLANG. The group features Drummer Kenny Wollesen, alto saxophonist Jonathon Haffner, trumpeter Kirk Knuffke and others. He performed and presented regularly as part of the

Festival of New Trumpet Music The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) is a nonprofit organization founded by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas to encourage aspiring trumpeters. The annual festival consists of concerts and workshops over a two to three week period in New Yor ...

, held annually in New York City. Morris wrote most of the incidental music for the 1989 TV show, '' A Man Called Hawk'', which starred

Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as Hawk on '' Spenser: For Hire'' ...

, with whom he co-wrote the theme music, along with

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

. He also played with well-known artist and would-be drummer A.R. Penck in 1990. Fo
AudioBox Matera 1990: International Festival of Sound ExperimentationPinotto Fava
curator), Morris created ''Spiriti Materani'' featuring

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

(keyboards, electronics), J. A. Deane (trombone, electronics), and Butch (cornet). The project took place in Madonna delle Virtù, a 12th-century rupestrian church in Sasso Caveoso, Matera, Italy. Morris is the originator of ''Conduction'' (a term borrowed from

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

), a type of structured

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...

where Morris directs and conducts an improvising ensemble with a series of hand and

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

gestures. These conductions have received generally positive reviews, and are often considered quite unique, not quite fitting into any one

musical genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

. Critic Thom Jurek has written, "There are no records like Butch Morris' conduction sides, nor could there be, though he wishes there were." and Ed Hazell writes, "At his best, Morris can shake players out of their old habits, or place a microscope on one aspect of a musician's artistry and build an orchestral

fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

around it." Morris died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on January 29, 2013, at the age of 65 in a hospital in New York City.

Discography

As leader

* ''In Touch But Out Of Reach'' ( Kharma, 1978) * ''New York City Artist's Collective: Play Butch Morris'' (NYCAC, 1984) * ''Trios'' (

Dossier A dossier is a collection of papers or other sources, containing detailed information about a particular person or subject. Dossier can also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dossier 51'', a 1978 film based on a book of the same name ...

, 1986) * ''Current Trends in Racism in Modern America'' ( Sound Aspects, 1986) * ''Homeing'' (Sound Aspects, 1988) * ''Mass-X-Communication'' ( FMP, 1991) * ''Dust To Dust'' (

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, 1991) * ''When the Sun is Out You Don't See Stars'' (FMP, 1993) * ''Testament'' (New World, 1995) * ''Conduction (series)'' (New World, 1996) * ''Burning Cloud'' (FMP, 1996) * ''Berlin Skyscraper'' (FMP, 1998) * ''The Rite'' ( Burnt Sugar, 2003)

As sideman

With

*'' Some Order, Long Understood'' (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1982) With

Frank Lowe Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Born and brought up in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Fra ...

*'' Exotic Heartbreak'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1981) *''Tricks of the Trade'' (

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

) *''The Other Side'' (

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

) *''Sweet Space'' *''Skizoke'' *''Live from Soundscape'' With David Murray *''Vol.1 Penthouse Jazz'' (1977,

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

) *''Vol.2 Holy Siege on Intrigue'' (1977, Circle) *'' Let the Music Take You'' (Marge, 1978) *'' Last of the Hipman'' (

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, 1978) *'' David Murray Big Band'' ( DIW, 1991) With Triple Trip Touch (T.T.T.) * ''3+2=XXXX'' (Dimensional Sound Studio 1, 1983)

References

External links

Butch Morris official site

''Black February'', a documentary about Butch Morris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Butch 1947 births 2013 deaths American jazz cornetists American jazz composers American male jazz composers Avant-garde jazz musicians Jazz musicians from California Jazz-influenced classical composers Musicians from Long Beach, California Deaths from lung cancer United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Matera United States Army soldiers