ABSTRACT
The three composers are Lawrence “Butch” Morris, John Zorn, and Elliott Sharp. “Composition” is interpreted broadly to focus on their original systems for organizing improvised playing: Conduction for Morris, game pieces for Zorn, and Sharp’s modular and rule-based pieces for string quartet. Score excerpts from Zorn’s “Cobra” and “Cat-O-Nine Tails” and several Sharp pieces are included, as are interviews with Morris, Sharp, and performers including Anthony Coleman, Fred Frith, Zeena Parkins, and others.
