Ornette Coleman - Prime Design / Time Design (1985)

A harmolodic composition for four string instruments and percussion in honor of Buckminster Fuller.

Gregory Gelman - 1st Violin
Larissa Blitz - 2nd Violin
Alex Deych - Viola
Matthew Meister - Cello
Denardo Coleman - Percussion

Recorded live in the Fullerian Desert Dome, Caravan of Dreams, Fort Worth, Texas

Ornette Coleman's Sleeve Note:
When I first met Buckminster Fuller in 1982, he impressed me with a spirited demonstration of his model of the tetrahedron, a geometric figure at the basis of the structural design of the universe. He manipulated the model, turned it inside out, made it dance -- but the corners never touched. I said to myself "that's just like my music!" And at that moment I was inspired to write a piece of music based on Fuller's mathematics, dedicated to this man and his shining being, investigating the universe like an ancient child.

This piece is designed for five soloists. At different points in the piece, each musician plays in different time signatures: 2/4, 1/4, 2/3, 4/4, 7/4, 9/4 and 12/4.

The second violin introduces the theme which is then played by viola, the cello, and the first violin. After completing the theme, each musician plays his part as a solo, performed "ensemble." Each soloist will end at a different place. Second violin finishes first, then the viola, the cello and lastly the first violin.

The audience is invited to contemplate the total sound produced from multi-directional components.