Theory on the South Side: Muhal Richard Abrams's Engagement with Joseph Schillinger's <i>System of Musical Composition</i>

Abstract Muhal Richard Abrams's ground-breaking work as a composer, improviser, and cofounder of the Association for Advancement Creative Musicians (AACM) is far reaching multifaceted. Russian theorist, polymath Joseph Schillinger appears repeatedly in discussions Abrams AACM, suggesting that music theory played generative role creative practice pedagogy. This article focuses on engagement with The System Musical Composition . It theorizes incorporation Schillinger's into his broader pallette, analyzes compositional application theory, suggests conceptual resonances between text. Ultimately, this larger network African American theorists, which I conceptualize “fugitive theory.”