Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic

An Introduction
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Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic might be the world's hardest rocking chamber music quartet. Their music is a unique mix of classical, rock, minimalism, jazz, and free-form improvisational sounds. This eclectic aesthetic has a broad audience appeal -- at a typical Birdsongs' concert, ages range from eight to eighty, and musical preferences are as different as rock and classical.

Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic began in 1980 as a side project by half of Boston's now legendary Mission Of Burma, Roger Miller and Martin Swope. Miller and Swope joined forces with Rick Scott and Erik Lindgren for what was originally conceived as a recording project only. In 1983, they released a self-titled EP, Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic.

With the demise of Mission Of Burma at about the same time as the EP's release, Birdongs Of The Mesozoic became a full-time band for all members. In 1985 they released another LP, Magnetic Flip, and began extensive touring to support its release. A year later they released another EP, Beat Of The Mesozoic, and again set out on tour.

In 1987, Roger Miller left the group to concentrate on solo projects and was replaced by saxophonist Ken Field. Birdsongs' new lineup recorded Faultline, released on Cuneiform (Rune 19). Their second Cuneiform release, Pyroclastics (Rune 35), appeared in 1992. Shortly afterwards, guitarist Michael Bierylo replaced Martin Swope, who moved to Hawaii. In 1993 a collection of previously unreleased material from 1980-1987 featuring the band's first lineup and accompanied by a written history, The Fossil Record (Rune 55) paid tribute to Birdsongs' early years.

1995's Dancing On A'A (Rune 69) is Birdsongs' eigth release. It is the first to feature the current lineup of the group, which has been performing for the past four years to widespread acclaim.

Birdsongs' instrumentation is as striking as its music: two keyboards, guitar, and saxophone blend with electronic and acoustic percussion (including a Mercury Cougar hubcap and a paint can) to produce sound "...as meditative as it is physical, as rooted in classical structure and jazz improvisation as it is in rock 'n roll." (The Boston Globe)

Since 1994, the members of Birdsongs have been Aritsts-In-Residence at Dartmouth College, Emory University and Massachusetts College Of Art. Other recent notable performances have included the Knitting Factory in New York City, the Honolulu Academy Of Arts, the Monadnock Music Festival in New Hampshire, and Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1998, Birdsongs collaborated with David Greenberger of Duplex Planet to create 1001 Real Apes, in which Birdsongs provided the musical score for stories read by Greenberger. The material was widely performed and recorded in 1999.

2000 sees the first actual release by Birdsongs in five years: Petrophonics, as well as the launch of the official Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic web site.

Members of the group also have gained attention by composing music for film and television, including, most recently, work for the Children's Television Workshop's highly respected Sesame Street series.