Space Station – Grachan Moncur III
There are plenty of possibilities to explore with Space Station. This song has a lot of energy and excitement in the first recording, by Grachan with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet. Space Station can also float effortlessly in space as you'll hear from Micah Thomas's solo piano performance.
- Recording: The Jazztet - Another Git Together
- Recorded on: June 21, 1962
- Label: Mercury (MG 20737)
- Concert Key: A minor
- Vocal Range: , to
- Style: Swing (uptempo)
- Trumpet - Art Farmer
- Trombone - Grachan Moncur III
- Tenor Sax - Benny Golson
- Piano - Harold Mabern
- Bass - Herbie Lewis
- Drums - Roy McCurdy
Video
- Description
- Historical Notes
- Solos
- Piano Corner
- Bass Corner
- Drum Corner
- Guitar Corner
- Inside & Beyond
- Minus You
A modal song with an animated riff theme, Space Station is a Grachan Moncur classic. This song lends itself well to the bouncy uptempo setting of the original Jazztet recording; also check out our exclusive recording by pianist Micah Thomas (second album cover) for a very different version.
Space Station has a 12-measure form, with fun changes to blow on: four measures each of Am7 and Abm7, then two each of Dm7 and E7 going back to the next chorus. Because of the shifting modes, the transposed lead sheets show no key signature. Our lead sheet includes piano hits in the last four measures of the head filling around the melody. On the Jazztet recording, the horns play the melody in octaves (trumpet above, tenor sax and trombone unison an octave below) except the last note on the repeat of the in head. The three-part voicing for this note is included in all lead sheets; it's held from beat 2 into the beginning of the first solo chorus. The out head ends abruptly on the downbeat of the last measure, without this harmonized note.
Space Station has a 12-measure form, with fun changes to blow on: four measures each of Am7 and Abm7, then two each of Dm7 and E7 going back to the next chorus. Because of the shifting modes, the transposed lead sheets show no key signature. Our lead sheet includes piano hits in the last four measures of the head filling around the melody. On the Jazztet recording, the horns play the melody in octaves (trumpet above, tenor sax and trombone unison an octave below) except the last note on the repeat of the in head. The three-part voicing for this note is included in all lead sheets; it's held from beat 2 into the beginning of the first solo chorus. The out head ends abruptly on the downbeat of the last measure, without this harmonized note.
"Another Git Together" was the last recording of the original Jazztet; Art Farmer and Benny Golson would go on to revive the Jazztet 20 years later. Earlier in 1962, the same lineup recorded another Mercury album, "Here And Now," including compositions by Grachan Moncur, Art Farmer and Ray Bryant coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com. These two Jazztet albums were Grachan's first recordings.
In 1962 the title Space Station, like most of Grachan's music, was both right up to date and ahead of its time. The first human spaceflight had taken place a year earlier, but actual space stations were still a decade away. However, as Grachan detailed in his lyric (not yet available), it was a hangout place in Harlem.
In 1962 the title Space Station, like most of Grachan's music, was both right up to date and ahead of its time. The first human spaceflight had taken place a year earlier, but actual space stations were still a decade away. However, as Grachan detailed in his lyric (not yet available), it was a hangout place in Harlem.
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- Recording: Micah Thomas - Grachan Moncur III Explored
- Recorded on: December 14, 2021
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1060)
- Concert Key: A minor
- Vocal Range: , to
- Style: Swing (medium)
- Piano - Micah Thomas
Video
- Description
- Historical Notes
- Solos
- Piano Corner
- Bass Corner
- Drum Corner
- Guitar Corner
- Inside & Beyond
- Minus You
Don Sickler: "The lead sheets (from the original recording) are all you need to take your own relaxed trip through space on Grachan's Space Station. Listening to our audio excerpts of Micah Thomas' interpretations, you'll find yourself in a new and totally different musical environment: the magical world of solo piano Micah Thomas. This will, I hope, inspire you to try it with your own group. Is Micah playing 4-feel or 2-feel? There's no bass or drums to solidify the groove, but his "time" is definitely together! My goal here is inspire you and the musicians in your group to be imaginative."
The audio excerpt for Micah's first take is above; here's a bit of his second take CLIP
The audio excerpt for Micah's first take is above; here's a bit of his second take CLIP
Don Sickler: "My first meeting in person with Micah was when he, at 21, came to the Van Gelder Recording Studio for the first time to record Herbie Nichols' composition Van Allen Belt for my Herbie Nichols Centennial solo piano project. Check out the Historical Notes about the three tracks of Van Allen Belt and listen to the teaser audio excerpts to reveal the magical performances Micah created that afternoon (December 20, 2019).
November 6, 2021, was the next time Micah came to the Van Gelder Studio to record, this time with Billy Drummond and Freedom Of Ideas. I was at the session, assisting my wife, Maureen, who was the recording engineer. After hearing the group record Frankenstein by Grachan Moncur, III, a bell went off in my brain: I definitely wanted to introduce Micah to more of Grachan's compositions to explore in a solo piano context. After hearing Micah at Billy's session I was determined to schedule another session at Rudy's studio to discuss and explore some different ideas I had about the composers we represent. When I got around to Grachan, I gave Micah our lead sheet for Space Station. He was not familiar with the song. I told him Art Farmer and the Jazztet (with Grachan on trombone) had first recorded it as an uptempo swinger "burner." I told Micah I'd love to hear him record it, but as a solo piano medium swing piece. I asked 'How does that sound?' He said 'Good,' and Maureen slated his first recorded performance. I asked him if he wouldn't mind doing one more, so he recorded a second take.
Again, his performances blew me away: his sense of time, his imaginative intro setup, all of his harmonic and rhythmical interactions with the melody when playing the music for the first time: truly magical. Thanks, Micah, for these two marvelous spontaneous arrangements!
They're both the same format: intro, in melody (2 times) - 4 solo choruses - out melody. I invite you to step into your own Space Station."
November 6, 2021, was the next time Micah came to the Van Gelder Studio to record, this time with Billy Drummond and Freedom Of Ideas. I was at the session, assisting my wife, Maureen, who was the recording engineer. After hearing the group record Frankenstein by Grachan Moncur, III, a bell went off in my brain: I definitely wanted to introduce Micah to more of Grachan's compositions to explore in a solo piano context. After hearing Micah at Billy's session I was determined to schedule another session at Rudy's studio to discuss and explore some different ideas I had about the composers we represent. When I got around to Grachan, I gave Micah our lead sheet for Space Station. He was not familiar with the song. I told him Art Farmer and the Jazztet (with Grachan on trombone) had first recorded it as an uptempo swinger "burner." I told Micah I'd love to hear him record it, but as a solo piano medium swing piece. I asked 'How does that sound?' He said 'Good,' and Maureen slated his first recorded performance. I asked him if he wouldn't mind doing one more, so he recorded a second take.
Again, his performances blew me away: his sense of time, his imaginative intro setup, all of his harmonic and rhythmical interactions with the melody when playing the music for the first time: truly magical. Thanks, Micah, for these two marvelous spontaneous arrangements!
They're both the same format: intro, in melody (2 times) - 4 solo choruses - out melody. I invite you to step into your own Space Station."
Related Songs
Email Send Space Station to a friend
Send this page to a friend via email. Add your name or email in the first field. In the second, add one or more email addresses, separated by a comma.
Grachan Moncur III
June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022
Grachan Moncur has been one of the leading jazz trombonists throughout the past fifty years. He has played with many jazz legends including Ray Charles, Wayne Shorter, Blue Mitchell and Jackie McLean. Moncur first learned the cello at the age of nine. Inspired by his father, bassist Grachan Moncur II, who played with the likes of the Savoy Sultans, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, he turned to the trombone at the age of eleven. He began attending the Laurinburg Institute, honing his skills and attending shows where he sat in with drummer Art Blakey and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. While studying at the Manhattan School of Music and Julliard, he began performing as a leader with greats including Wayne Shorter, Gary Bartz and Blue Mitchell. He took part in two classic Jackie McLean albums, "One Step Beyond" and "Destination Out," contributing multiple compositions. He recorded two albums as a leader for Blue Note: "Evolution" with McLean and Lee Morgan and "Some Other Stuff" with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Read more...
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