Biography
Morris Knight is an American composer, professional instrumentalist and arranger in both contemporary classical music and jazz.
In 1952, while an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, he became acquainted with H. Ray Warren, who was experimenting with tape recording. Knight joined the staff of WRFC in Athens, Georgia, for the facilities and access that would lead to his first experimental tape works. Probably unaware of developments in Europe, the composer completed a number of these tracks under the impression he was doing pioneering work.
Morris subsequently joined the faculty at Ball State University, and received a substantial federal grant, which led to the development of this work. Morris’ work plays with traditional forms, subverting intervals and structure with variety and irony. Yet formalist as Morris' sensibilities might be, “After Guernica,” recorded in 1969, responds to Picasso’s famous memorial painting with a slow crescendo of isolated pitch tones and pitchless clusters, before erupting in mimesis of violence and pain.
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