The Art of Conduction

Lawrence D. Butch Morris (1947–2013) was an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor, internationally considered one of the great musical innovators of our times. His interests in ensemble music—from avant-garde jazz to contemporary classical—crystallized into a unique method of real-time orchestral composition, which he called Conduction®, designed to enable conductors to direct an ensemble. Morris toured the world, introducing Conduction to a varied community of musicians, and his influence extended into art, dance, poetry and cinema.

The Art of Conduction is a theoretical introduction and practical guide to Conduction. During the last 10 years of his life, Morris worked to document his method in this book form; his untimely death left it near finished. Finally Daniela Veronesi, a linguist and longtime collaborator, brings his manuscript to completion.