Jazz for the Birds

BirdNote^®

Jazz For The Birds

Written by John Kessler

This is BirdNote!

Birds are an inspiration for many musicians. [“The Penguin” music]

Bandleader Raymond Scott probably saw these birds at the Central Park Zoo before writing his waddling 1937 hit “The Penguin.” [Gentoo Penguin]

All penguins are clumsy on land but these Gentoos are superlative swimmers - the fastest of any diving bird - reaching 22 miles an hour, and diving to 600 feet. [Mallards]

Speaking of swimmers, Brazilian composer Joao Gilberto has swans, geese and ducks doing the samba in his song “O Pato,” or “The Duck,” sung here by Karrin Allysson.  [“O Pato” music]

Jazz musicians improvise on a theme, and Dave Brubeck, who grew up in the West, undoubtedly heard the Western Meadowlark [Western Meadowlark] before writing “Strange Meadowlark.” The tune appeared on Brubeck’s legendary 1959 release “Time Out.” [“Strange Meadowlark” music]

For BirdNote I’m Mary McCann.

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Musical selections: Raymond Scott "The Penguin" The Music of Raymond Scott, Sony 1992; Karrin Allyson "O Pato" From Paris To Rio, Concord 1999; Dave Brubeck Quartet   "Strange Meadowlark" Time Out, Sony 1959
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Gentoo Penguin [127117] recorded by G.F. Budney;  Mallards [3430] recorded by A.A. Allen; song of Western Meadowlark [1375111] recorded by G. Vyn. 
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org  July 2017/2019 Narrator: Mary McCann.

ID# jazz-01-2013-07-11      jazz-01