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Green Diamond is the second piece in the Magnolia Star Trilogy, a group of pieces inspired by the blues scale and the American railroad. The first piece in the series, Magnolia Star, was written in 2012. Green Diamond uses the blues scale as a key influence, but a new element is added as well: the minor/major chord (C,Eb,G,B,D). These two sound worlds (the blues scale and the minor/major chord) are used to generate harmonic and melodic material that alternate, compete, and combine throughout the piece. Like Magnolia Star, the influence of the American railroad provides sounds that are fast, driving, and exciting. Green Diamond also features an off-stage alto saxophonist who provides somewhat distant, jazzy reminders of the blues scale, offering an answer Green Diamond’s preoccupation with the minor/major chord.

Green Diamond, like Magnolia Star, was the name of a train that ran in the early 20th century as part of the Illinois Central Railroad.