American cornetist, composer and conductor Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris died yesterday at age 65 in New York after a serious illness.
He will be remembered as the creator of a distinctive music form for big ensembles based on collective improvisation conducted by himself. He called this method of music making “conducted improvisation”, or as he explained an “improvised duet between ensemble and conductor”.
His method was introduced in 1985 and consists of a special vocabulary: musicians react to a series of gestures that imply change of tone, length, dynamics and other parameters, while the conductor leaves it to every musician to decide what exactly he or she wants to play.
Morris practiced his method for more then 25 years. In that time he has worked with more then 5.000 musicians from around the world. His approach to music deeply influenced many musicians, especially in artistic circles of New York, where his performances had a unique reputation.
Find out more about this musician from the short video.