Gunther Schuller Has Died

When someone gets to be in their late 80s you naturally expect their death isn't far off, so it's not shocking to find out that the eminent composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, writer, administrator, publisher, recording producer, inventor of new movements and a true musical polymath, has died at the age of 89.    Just last month, I know, he was giving the graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Music a graduation lecture at which a new composition of his was played, so he died active till the end.   Which makes me very happy for him.

It is hard to pick out any one thing he did as his most important contribution to music and culture, the compositions, the arrangements, the mentoring of young and not so young musicians, the inventor of the "Third Stream" of music at an intersection of jazz and classical - that is if such great composers such as Charles Mingus and John Lewis, in fact composers going back to James P. Johnson hadn't already done that without naming it.  One of the things I value most are the books about music, his "Compleat Conductor" is one of my favorites.  If I had to choose someone whose career I'd have liked to have in music, his would be at the top of the list.

It is hard to know what to pick out to represent him, the strictly classical pieces, the massive and extraordinary first performance of a hugely scaled piece by Charles Mingus,  which, perhaps I'll get back to later in the week.

Here is a recording of his Variants on a Theme of John Lewis, a Third Stream piece, recorded by John Lewis and an all star group including,

Eric Dolphy, flute
Robert DiDomenica, flute (I had no idea he played flute)
Jim Hall, guitar
Eddie Costa, vibes
Bill Evans, piano
Scott Lafaro, bass
George Duvivier, bass
Sticks Evans, drums
The Contemporary String Quartet

With people like that playing your music, you don't need extra praise.