In a bold and ambitious undertaking, Seattle-based composer and pianist Wayne Horvitz is set to present "What's Going On: Conduction, Improvisation, and the Culture of Structure," a concert series and accompanying workshop as part of this year's Earshot Jazz Festival.
The series, which brings together approximately 60 musicians, will highlight the legacies of three pivotal figures in avant-garde jazz and improvised music: Lawrence "Butch" Morris, Sun Ra, and Julius Hemphill.
The genesis of ‘What's Going On’
The idea for the series began to take shape as Horvitz reflected on the approaching 10-year anniversary of Butch Morris's passing.
"I started to think a few years ago about doing something about Butch, but I also wanted to do something about the culture that he was part of and what he was interested in - the evolution of that culture," Horvitz explained recently, in a break from preparing for the series.
Horvitz is speaking about the innovative, boundary-pushing world of avant-garde jazz and improvised music that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, which sought to expand the language of jazz by incorporating elements of free improvisation, contemporary classical music, and various global musical traditions.
The choice to include Sun Ra and Julius Hemphill alongside Morris was deliberate. Sun Ra's iconic status and his Afrofuturistic approach to jazz makes him recognizable to audiences across various musical worlds, while Hemphill's inclusion was influenced by Horvitz's friendship with Marty Ehrlich, a premier proponent of Hemphill's work.
Both Sun Ra and Hemphill, like Morris, were key figures in pushing jazz beyond its traditional boundaries. They explored new forms of composition and improvisation that challenged conventional notions of structure and harmony in jazz.
Converging influences and expanding boundaries
Horvitz sees these three artists as pioneers who sought to expand beyond standard jazz forms, each bringing their unique perspective to the evolution of improvised music.
"They were all interested in European contemporary music, and they were all interested in jazz," Horvitz noted. "But they were also looking for ways to get beyond standard jazz form."
This exploration was as wide as it was deep. Horvitz pointed out that these artists were "influenced by all sorts of things happening in popular music, things that were happening in European art music, things that were happening in jazz." Their work blends ideas from various musical traditions to create something new and expansive.
Horvitz particularly emphasized the Afrocentric perspective that these and other artists brought to their work. Cecil Taylor, whose work also makes an appearance in the series, “articulated that really well," Horvitz explained.
"He felt that there was a kind of logic that lived within the body and the relationship of the body to the instrument. And it wasn't a primitive type of logic, far from it. It was a highly intelligent kind of logic. Just different logic from the dominant thinking."
Inside the series
Thursday, October 17, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Seattle Modern Orchestra: Conductive Structures: Compositions by CHARI (World Premiere), Julius Hemphill and Wayne Horvitz, plus “Worst Planet Yet”- a Sun Ra inspired conduction.
The series kicks off with a performance by the Seattle Modern Orchestra, featuring the world premiere of "Worst Planet Yet," a Sun Ra-inspired conduction by Horvitz. This piece showcases Horvitz's interpretation of Morris' conduction technique, applied to themes from Sun Ra's repertoire.
The night also includes "188 Sullivan," a piece written by Horvitz inspired by the famous meeting between Edgard Varèse and Charlie Parker. This encounter, where the bebop innovator Parker sought out the avant-garde classical composer Varèse, symbolizes the cross-pollination of musical ideas that "What's Going On" celebrates.
Horvitz explained: "Charlie Parker admired Varèse's music and went to his house, assumed Varèse had no idea who he was, felt odd knocking on his door, but did. Varèse came out and said, 'Oh my God, you're Charlie Parker!' Yet we separate these worlds so much."
This event brings those worlds together.
Wednesday, October 23, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Julius Hemphill’s Dogon A.D.: Hemphill’s iconic 1975 recording interpreted by D’Vonne Lewis, Peggy Lee, Stephanie Richards and Marty Ehrlich.
St. Louis, Chicago, LA and New York: A Conduction: Re-imagining the music of Cecil Taylor, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra, Julius Hemphill, Carla Bley and Ornette Coleman. With members of The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble and special guests.
The second event of the series pays tribute to Julius Hemphill's seminal album "Dogon A.D." Released in 1972, this album was groundbreaking in its fusion of avant-garde jazz with elements of funk and African music. Horvitz described this record as one that "broke the music community open" when it was released.
The album's title track features an unconventional 11/4 time signature, which was highly unusual for jazz at the time. This rhythmic innovation, combined with Hemphill's bluesy, gutbucket saxophone style and the use of cello as a bass instrument, created a unique sound that influenced generations of jazz musicians.
The performance will feature a stellar lineup including D'Vonne Lewis, Peggy Lee, Stephanie Richards, and Marty Ehrlich, the latter being a close associate of Hemphill and a key figure in preserving and promoting his legacy.
Thursday, October 24, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Kin of the Moon Open Strings Orchestra: An improvising chamber strings ensemble. Conduction by Wayne Horvitz and Stephanie Richards with special guests: Peggy Lee, Leanna Keith, Robin Holcomb, and Darius Jones.
Julius Hemphill: The Saxophone Sextets: Marty Ehrlich, Skerik, Darius Jones, Neil Welch, Alex Dugdale and Jory Tindall.
In a unique collaboration, Horvitz transforms Kin of the Moon, the boundary-pushing Seattle-based chamber project known for exploring the physicality of sound, into the “Open Strings Orchestra.” This performance highlights Horvitz's commitment to showcasing diverse voices in music, with a predominantly female ensemble exploring the possibilities of improvisation with string instruments.
"I felt that it was really easy to have a predominantly male presence in this, lack of representation is still a real issue,” Horvitz said. “So, I reached out to [Kin’s Co-Director] Heather Bentley right away... I've come to have a really strong connection with a lot of string players in this town who are interested in improvising and don't get a chance as much as they would like to."
Friday, October 25, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Julius Hemphill: Compositions for Jazz Orchestra: Selected works for large ensemble with members of The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble and guests.
Electric Circus: “Nublu”: Electric Circus celebrates the NYC Nublu residency. Butch Morris and the conduction of groove.
This evening brings together two of Horvitz's regular projects. The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble, a 15-piece band that Horvitz leads using conduction techniques, will perform Julius Hemphill's compositions for large ensemble.
Electric Circus, on the other hand, will explore the "conduction of groove," inspired by Morris' work at the New York club Nublu. Horvitz said "with Electric Circus, I take little motifs. I take motifs from like James Brown or Sly and the Family Stone or Los Lobos or The Clash,” as vehicles for conduction. This approach allows Horvitz to pay homage to his diverse influences while employing Morris' conduction techniques.
Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Jazz in Silhouette: The classic 1959 swing album of Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Featuring Sun Ra alum Vincent Chancey.
Hip Hop and its Elders: Connecting the dots between the samples and structures of hip-hop and jazz in the post-Coltrane era. Thaddeus Turner, Darrius Willrich and special guests Brandon Ross, Vincent Chancey and Sara Schoenbeck.
A highlight of the series is a performance of Sun Ra's classic 1959 album "Jazz in Silhouette," featuring Sun Ra Arkestra alum Vincent Chancey on French horn. This concert promises to bring new insights to Sun Ra's work through the lens of a musician who has long been part of the Arkestra's legacy.
Horvitz shared his excitement and slight nervousness about working with Chancey.
"I'm thrilled. I'm also a little nervous because up until this point, I've always just thought of Vincent as a great French horn player and a friend. Now I'm thinking of him as someone who I'm going to be presenting my transcriptions of these Sun Ra records and who may say, 'Wayne, that's not quite how it goes!'"
Saturday, November 2, 4:00 p.m. at The Royal Room
Workshop: Conduction for the people! An audience participatory event on the principles of conduction and approaches to new improvisation.
A unique aspect of the series is a workshop on conduction, open to participants of all skill levels. Horvitz described conduction as "a set of signs that you use to tell people to do certain things," allowing for structured improvisation within an ensemble.
Horvitz emphasized the compositional aspect of conduction: "I'm really interested in it as I like to compose with a computer. I like to compose at the piano. I like to compose writing for real instruments. I like to use conduction to compose. It's all composing to me."
This workshop aims to make the modality accessible to musicians of all backgrounds.
Saturday, November 2, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
The World of Conduction: A Tribute to the legacy of Butch Morris: Seattle’s finest improvisers join out of town special guests for a set of conductions by Wayne Horvitz, Stephanie Richards and Brandon Ross.
Electric Circus: Space is the Place: A re-imagining of the iconic 1973 Sun Ra album.
The penultimate concert is dedicated to the legacy of Butch Morris. Horvitz, who worked closely with Morris, aims to showcase different aspects of Morris' work, including his compositional skills and his development of the conduction technique.
This performance will feature Seattle's finest improvisers along with special guests, led in Morris' trademark methodology by Horvitz, Stephanie Richards, and Brandon Ross.
"More and more people are doing conduction, and it's great to see,” Horvitz said.
“It’s now second, third, fourth generation people and I think maybe a lot of those people don't even know quite where it came from, or don't know particularly much about Butch’s legacy, what he did before that work, and what a great cornet player he was."
Sunday, November 3, 7:30 p.m. at The Royal Room
Manual de Ritmo de Percusión con Señas: An all-percussion orchestra using a conduction system for rhythm. Inspired by Butch Morris and created by Santiago Vásquez.
Dust to Dust: The songs of Butch Morris: Butch Morris, the composer of gorgeous instrumental songs. Inspired by Morris’ 1991 New World recording “Dust to Dust.”
The series concludes with an all-percussion orchestra using a conduction system developed by Santiago Vásquez, inspired by Morris' work. Vásquez, an Argentine musician, created a language for conducting rhythmic improvisation known as "Rhythm with Signs" or "Percussion with Signs" that bears many similarities to Morris' Conduction methodology.
This final performance ties together the themes of structure and improvisation that run throughout the series, showcasing how Morris' ideas have influenced and evolved in different cultural contexts.
A confluence of traditions
Throughout "What's Going On," Horvitz bridges various musical traditions, from Sun Ra's Afrofuturism to hip-hop sampling techniques. He sees a connection between these diverse approaches in their exploration of structure and their challenge to traditional song forms.
Horvitz drew parallels between conduction and hip-hop production techniques: "Butch was really fascinated with sampling... I think that's the deep connection to hip-hop and structure." He noted how both conduction and hip-hop challenge traditional song structures and create new forms of musical expression.
Reflecting on the preparation for the series, Horvitz revisited Sun Ra's recordings.
"I'm listening to these Sun Ra records that I listened to a lot when I was in my late teens and early twenties and haven't listened to that much since. I'm listening to them very carefully... It's been wonderful."
He noted the challenges of working with and transcribing older recordings, often in mono and of varying audio quality, but expresses excitement at rediscovering the richness and variety in Sun Ra's music.
As the October 17 opening of 'What's Going On' nears, it aims to be not just a celebration of three influential artists, but a forward-looking exploration of the possibilities of improvised music.
Through this ambitious series, Wayne Horvitz invites audiences to join him in reimagining the boundaries between composition and improvisation, tradition and innovation, offering a unique journey through the evolving landscape of avant-garde jazz and improvisational music.
Editor's note: KNKX is an in-kind sponsor of Earshot Jazz Festival. This article was produced independent of any sponsorship and upholds the Public Media Code of Integrity.
