Epitaph (Complete - Full Score)

Not much to say about the score itself … I haven’t checked it against a recording, and am not qualified to do that kind of evaluation anyway. Just to have a printed score of a large ensemble work by Mingus is valuable in itself.One thing to know is that even on the full-size version, the “print” is small … the piece calls for a large band, and every instrument has its own 5 line staff.(Also: If you are used to fakebooks/songbooks and have not seen a score before, be aware that each instrument here is written down in its appropriate transposition … in other words, just because the piano part for a section is written down in C major doesn’t mean the tenor sax part for the same section will be written in C major too; it won’t.)The printing is clear and the spiral binding is welcome, so the book is usable. That said, it feels like something that was printed in a good copy shop, back in the 20th century. The paper’s texture feels cheap, and the printing doesn’t seem actually … printed … in the traditional sense. You may not care, but given the high price I felt a little let down.