{"id":1504,"date":"2014-01-12T15:55:39","date_gmt":"2014-01-12T20:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1504"},"modified":"2019-09-12T16:05:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:05:02","slug":"henry-threadgills-tribute-to-butch-morris-winterjazz-fest-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2014\/01\/henry-threadgills-tribute-to-butch-morris-winterjazz-fest-10.html","title":{"rendered":"Henry Threadgill’s tribute to Butch Morris @ WinterJazz Fest 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"butch<\/a>

Butch Morris, left, with Henry Threadgill; photo credit sought, no copyright infringement intended<\/p><\/div>\n

Composer-reedist Henry Threadgill created a stunning tribute at WinterJazz Fest 10 in New York City last night to honor his great friend Lawrence Douglas “Butch” Morris, who died just short of his 66th birthday on January 29, 2013. The nearly hour-long piece had two movements — a long, complex, multi-layered improvisation based on Threadgill’s score of shifting intervallic cells, and after a brief pause, a wrenching, \u00c2\u00a0climactically exultant tutti that distilled his characteristically angular and disjointed yet coherently emphatic expressivity, and over powerful drumming reached to the sky.<\/p>\n

Henry didn’t play, he conducted — but made no attempt at Conduction,<\/a> the revolutionary alphabet of hand gestures Butch invented and codified to enable ensembles of any instrumentation to engage in meaningfully directed spontaneous composition. Instead, he waved members of his “Ensemble Double-Up” — pianists Jason Moran and David Virelles, alto saxophonists Curtis Macdonald and Roman Filiu, cellist Christopher Hoffman and tuba player Jose Davila (both of Threadgill’s ongoing band Zooid), and traps drummer Craig Weinrib — to the fore of a mass of sonic detail, which was unfortunately muddy in the large, open, chairless hall of Judson Church<\/a>, long a center of artistic experimentation and righteous political activity.<\/p>\n

Threadgill’s music — from ensembles including his early trio Air<\/a>, seven-person Sextett<\/a>, electrified Very Very Circus<\/a>, \u00c2\u00a0Society Situation Dance Band, lyrical Make A Move<\/a> and dynamic Zooid<\/a> — has seldom been easy (as if that’s a desirable attribute). The man himself bubbles with energy, edgy humor, a questing nature and occasional fits of pique, all attributes evident in his imaginative enterprises. Ensemble Double-Up’s members worked heroically to realize his vision, which in the remembrance’s first episode teemed with life akin to an urban milieu: richly individualized voices in fast-flowing contrast, at cross-purposes and arriving at occasional fleeting harmonies.<\/p>\n

\"1045204_10201391350767077_266204325_n\"<\/a>

Henry Threadgill’s Ensemble Double-Up, Judson Church, WinterJazz Fest 10; photo by Susan Brink<\/p><\/div>\n

Weinrib, behind baffles, slashed at his cymbals and struck unrestful polyrhythms. Davila pumped a deep bottom in tandem with Hoffman, most often plucking pointed accents. The saxists both managed to blow in the unique vein Threadgill has discovered for himself,\u00c2\u00a0Maconald somewhat plaintively and Filiu rather more bluntly. Virelles and Moran, among the most accomplished of exploratory jazz pianists under 40, played clusters, runs, dissonant chords, and suffered most from the room’s acoustics; I longed for more body and tone overall.<\/p>\n

Threadgill’s ouevre has never been simply about melody or changes. Instead, it is intended as to convey the adventure of diving into the unknown and unexpected. That’s something Butch Morris responded to strongly in his compadre’s efforts, and something he himself was interested in, though he tended to take a different, less determinedly bristling approach, which Threadgill, now 69, deeply appreciated.<\/p>\n

\"henry<\/a>

photo credit sought, no copyright infringement intended<\/p><\/div>\n

The two had much in common and in complement. Both came to musical maturity in community-oriented, musician-run collectives, Butch in Watts with Horace Tapscott’s Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and bassist Charles Moffett’s rehearsal big band, Henry with Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of photo credit sought, no copyright infringement intendedCreative Musicians (AACM). They were both Viet Nam veterans — and joined forces with \u00c2\u00a0fellow vets under the leadership of violinist Billy Bang on the album Vietnam: The Aftermath<\/em><\/a>. They first recorded together in David Murray’s 1980s octet, which included such \u00c2\u00a0like-minded improvisers as trumpeter Olu Dara, trombonists Craig Harris and George Lewis, bassists Fred Hopkins and Butch’s brother Wilbur,\u00c2\u00a0drummers Steve McCall and Edward Blackwell, pianists Don Pullen and Anthony Davis. Both were sociable, yet cherished privacy and could be verbally elusive as well as witty. On a personal level, they simply clicked. The two lived much of the time within a few blocks of each other in the East Village, shared a lot discussion of musical ideas, late night hang outs and laughs.<\/p>\n

Indeed, to know Butch Morris, as cordial and charming as he was original and astute, was to laugh with him, delve into broad ranging discussions, and love him. Many attendees at this concert were players, dancers, writers and aficionados personally touched by Butch, who likely had collaborated with him. Some wept openly, and at the end everyone cheered the uncompromised intensity of feeling Henry Threadgill evoked, throwing his arms into the air, \u00c2\u00a0commanding his musicians’ focus to simultaneously mourn and celebrate a man whose memory sustains artistic ambitions, and whose legacy of Conduction, songs and his tender cornet playing should not be forgotten. Threadgill’s remembrance of Morris was so resolute and moving that I found myself unable to listen to any more of the couple of dozen exemplary bands performing in multiple venues as WinterJazz Fest 10 continued to 3 a.m. Better to walk through bustling Greenwich Village, breath the misty air and, as brought to the purpose by Henry Threadgill, recall.<\/p>\n

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Composer-reedist Henry Threadgill created a stunning tribute at WinterJazz Fest 10 in New York City last night to honor his great friend Lawrence Douglas “Butch” Morris, who died just short of his 66th birthday on January 29, 2013. The nearly hour-long piece had two movements — a long, complex, multi-layered improvisation based on Threadgill’s score […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-og","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2025,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/04\/threadgill-wins-pulitzer-for-zooid-and-cheers-for-his-career.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":0},"title":"Threadgill wins Pulitzer for Zooid and cheers for his career","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pulitzer Prize for Music\u00c2\u00a0has been earned by Henry Threadgill, composer, bandleader and reedist, for his expansive and in-depth explorations of polyphonic improvisation with his quintet Zooid, the suite stretching over\u00c2\u00a0two cds\u00c2\u00a0In for a Penny, In for a Pound. Big time congratulations! And encouragement listening to all and any of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"ornette and threadgill","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/ornette-and-threadgill-300x297.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":263,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/11\/henry_threadgill_seer_beyond_j.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":1},"title":"Henry Threadgill, seer beyond ‘jazz’","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"November 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"In my City Arts column: a new album and Roulette concert with commissioned work from a worldly-wise 65 yr-old NYC\/East Village-based composer-bandleader who keeps looking at music -- Varese's and Wagner's, Scott Joplin's and Ornette Coleman's -- to find something new. I call Henry Threadgill a prophet in the wilderness,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2215,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/04\/butch-morriss-workbook-for-spontaneous-composition-published.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":2},"title":"Butch Morris’s workbook for spontaneous composition published","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The deathbed wish of composer-cornetist Lawrence Douglas \"Butch\" Morris (1947-2013) was that his detailed documentation of Conduction\u00c2\u00ae, the method he devised to enable\u00c2\u00a0spontaneous composition for ensembles of literally any type employing codified hand-signals, be published in hardcover. This has come to pass. On April 24 and May 1, events in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"\"The Original LA Dawgs\" \"Current Trends in Racism in Modern America\"","block_context":{"text":"\"The Original LA Dawgs\" \"Current Trends in Racism in Modern America","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/the-original-la-dawgs-current-trends-in-racism-in-modern-america"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/book-ButchMorris_Cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/book-ButchMorris_Cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/book-ButchMorris_Cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/book-ButchMorris_Cover.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1202,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/01\/butch-morris-musical-artist-and-friend-mourned-widely.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":3},"title":"Butch Morris, musical artist and friend, mourned widely","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Lawrence Douglas \"Butch\" Morris, one of the most brilliant and musically generous of artists who emerged from New York's East Village in the 1980s as an experimental cornetist, composer of melodies and settings, and instigator of the burgeoning act of Conduction (a term he copyrighted), died January 29 of cancer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"poster_italy_actual size","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/poster_italy_actual-size-208x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1225,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/02\/dr-donald-byrd-rip-jayne-cortez-memorial-photos.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":4},"title":"Dr. Donald Byrd, RIP; Jayne Cortez memorial photos","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. Donald Byrd was a trumpeter with an ear for the vernacular and fresh talent.\u00c2\u00a0Jayne Cortez was a radical poet -- both esthetically and personally. Butch Morris was a jazz cornetist, composer, conductor and\u00c2\u00a0conductioner. Let's celebrate the lives and creativity of all three. Strangely,\u00c2\u00a0reports by a nephew of Byrd's death\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Singer-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1208,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/02\/current-trends-in-racism-in-modern-america-a-work-in-progress-by-butch-morris.html","url_meta":{"origin":1504,"position":5},"title":"Current Trends in Racism in Modern America, A Work in Progress by Butch Morris","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"My maybe unpublished 25th anniversary liner notes for Conduction #1, Current Trends in Racism in Modern America, A Work in Progress, by the late Butch Morris with all-star improvisers, recorded 28 years ago today (Feb 1, 2013) and sonically as relevant as ever.\u00c2\u00a0 [The cast is: Frank Lowe, tenor sax;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"big current trends","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/big-current-trends.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}