Butch Morris Ensemble , Greenwich House NYC - February 16, 1985

This was a pretty magical event that lingers in my mind decades later. Although the late Butch Morris would go on to be most well known for his Conductions (large ensemble conducted improvisations), the program on this night was largely composed sections with improvising soloists, including Butch on cornet. After a short piece, the ensemble began a piece that lasted almost 50 minutes, which covered lots of musical territory. The last track of this performance was the most sublime, particularly the last 15 minutes featuring Butch on cornet, starting around 1:00:09. Although the band wasn't as tight at times as I'm sure Butch would have liked, getting this large a group to practice on a shoestring budget was not possible. At times sections of this music remind me of minimalists like Steve Reich (particularly the vibe/marimba duets between Thurman Barker and Eli Fountain, see 1:00:45), and this was one of the few times I saw Jean-Paul Bourelly on guitar and only time I saw Curtis Clark on piano, both of whom made quite an impression. Butch Morris was very active in the downtown scene in the early and mid 80s, both with David Murray's various ensembles, and with the improvisor crowd (Zorn, Horvitz, etc. - Jim Staley who ran Roulette appears here). I haven't come across anything, though, that was as fully-formed of his own music as this performance. Unfortunately, Butch did not announce the titles of the pieces the group played, so their names are lost to time... Butch Morris - cornet and conducting Thurman Barker - marimba Eli Fountain - vibraharp Jean-Paul Bourelly - guitar John Betsch - drums Wayne Horvitz - synthesizer Curtis Clark - piano Vincent Chancey - french horn Steven Bernstein - trumpet Jim Staley - trombone John Paff - tuba 00:00 Intro by Butch Morris 00:21 track 1 4:01 track 2 52:40 track 3 Recorded on a Sony Walkman TCS-350. This is uploaded solely for educational purposes and historical interest. Enjoy.

Added 7 Oct 2026