Ever since a five-day January stay on the shore of Baja California's Laguna San Ignacio to see the hundreds of spyhopping, spouting, and swimming gray whales, (which I wrote about in Miraculous Air), I've had a great affection for whales. I used to think caring about whales was silly; now I think it's silly not to care. They are wondrous creatures, and a last vestige, alas, of a natural world that is fast disappearing. And I'm a ginormous fan of writer-musician, improvising composer and philosopher David Rothenberg's elegantly original Why Birds Sing and so, especially delighted to see that now he's brought out a new CD to accompany a forthcoming book on--- no kidding---playing his clarinet for whales, from belugas in the Russian Arctic, to orcas off Vancouver Island, and humpbacks in the warm lagoon between Maui and Lanai. “David Rothenberg,” says Paul Winter, “is one of the rare musicians who is devoted to exploring the voices of the natural world. I would hope his work might encourage others to follow suit.” But do the whales care? Will they respond to his clarinet? You'll be able to read all about it when his book, The Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound, is published by Basic Books in May. In the meantime, I asked him to supply five links. Dive in:
1.) The Thousand Mile Song
The book's main website.
2.) David Rothenberg plays for Russian Belugas
Youtube video
3.) Serenading Belugas in the White Sea: Rhapsody in Beluga
Orion Magazine article by David Rothenberg
4.) Bull Hill: To Wail with a Whale
Terrain.org on-line magazine article by David Rothenberg
5.) CD: Whale Music
Jazz that reaches out to the sounds of the natural world. Lyrical, pure and tinged with a little bit of bird, whale, and bug.
---David Rothenberg.
5.) CD: Whale Music
Jazz that reaches out to the sounds of the natural world. Lyrical, pure and tinged with a little bit of bird, whale, and bug.
---David Rothenberg.
---> To read more Madam Mayo guest-blog posts click here.
Up next Wednesday: Steven Hart.
