In 1997, Evan Parker, Ian Smith and Steve Beresford put together a 24-piece orchestra to tour the UK for the Contemporary Music Network, under the baton of Butch Morris. Butch, sadly no longer with us, was a New York-based African-American cornet player, arranger and exponent of the improvised conducting technique known as ‘conduction’.
About a year after that, we put together the London Improvisers Orchestra to carry that process on. All members of the orchestra were encouraged to conduct pieces. Since our first gig, at the Red Rose in Finsbury Park, we have played pretty well every month at various venues. Our gig at Iklectik on December the 6th will be, by our reckoning, the 200th performance by LIO.
