(from the performance notes by Jeffrey Sultanof): Except for a rare few, historians now consider The Miles Davis Nonet one of the most important ensembles in the history of jazz. Certainly such composers as Shorty Rogers, Andre Previn, Marty Paich, John Graas, Jack Montrose, Manny Albam, and Andre Hodeir were heavily influenced by the nonet, as their music shows.
Happily, many of the original parts of the sides recorded, plus parts for other compositions and arrangements for this ensemble, were discovered in three cartons of music that Miles Davis put into storage in Philadelphia and reclaimed after his death. In 2002, my edition of 12 scores from the repertoire of this ensemble was published by the Hal Leonard Corporation. An article will be published by the Journal of Jazz Studies in 2010. These Jazzlines Publications are extensively re-edited and I now consider these new edtions definitive.
Venus De Milo is the only Mulligan composition that he did not subsequently arrange for big band. All of the original parts exist, and they are in Mulligans hand. Except for the trumpet and drums part, they are dated April 20, 1949.
Lastly, alternate parts have been included in the event you don't have access to a horn in F or tuba. A trumpet 2 part has been included as a substitute for the horn and the tuba part may be played by a bass trombone.
