Search - David Rothenberg :: Why Birds Sing

David Rothenberg jams with lyrebirds and laughing thrushes, catbirds and bou bou shrikes. This recording has been five years in the making, and it involves cutting-edge musicians from all over the world mixing their sounds with the wonderful musical melodies and tones of birds. Hear the interspecies jams that set the book in motion, as Rothenberg?s clarinets and Michael Pestel?s flute meet a white-crested laughing thrush in the National Aviary, and a wild Australian lyrebird named George in his rainforest home. These pieces are live interactions betweeen humans and birds, and the music lies somewhere along the uncharted flyways of evolution. Back in the studio a stretched-out hermit thrush song meets the bass clarinet, and Maori flutes, Estonian guitars, and live Finnish electronics meet catbirds, starlings, skylarks, and waves. Also appearing on this record are flutist and performance artist Michael Pestel, Finnish electronic wizard Petri Kuljuntausta, New Zealand Grammy-award winner Richard Nunns, whose Maori-based music appeared in Whale Rider and Lord of the Rings. Also Estonian guitar master Robert Jürjendal, and versatile percussionist John Wieczorek. The record is co-produced by Rothenberg along with tuba player Patrick Donahue, known for his work as surround-sound mixer on Bowling for Columbine and Control Room.