| Matthew,
Hello from sunny Los Angeles.
Space is a Diamond was mostly a structured improv (Lucia provided a few ideas and Gerry did the rest). Gunther Schuller (Margus Music is his publishing Co. as you perhaps know) liked the result enough to transcribe it but few have attempted it until Denver Dill resurrected it a few years ago. He played the hell out of Space is a Diamond at the 2003 Lake Placid seminar.
...points of interest about that recording of Tender Theater Flight Nageire: it's a 5tet, not a 6tet as indicated on the recording. Gerry was conducting the session and when Norm Smith struggled with his part the two exchanged places (Norm conducting and Gerry playing Norm's horn and mouthpiece -- what we do sometimes in the name of Art). The percussion "part" is Lucia improvising, by the way, but everything else is carefully notated.
I didn't think much of it at the time but enjoy it now. I guess my ears have grown alongside everything else.
Cool that you've found it. Bobby Routch and Dave Taylor sound pretty amazing, don't they?
Cheers,
EC |