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Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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 1984 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) was the first Birdsongs release to feature the current lineup of the group, which has been performing ever since 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 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. 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.

While not currently touring or actively performing, the members of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic continue their long-time collaborative friendship, and a reunion concert is not impossible!!


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173
Album Review

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic: The Iridium Controversy

Read "The Iridium Controversy" reviewed by AAJ Staff


A professed “aural pangaea," the latest effort by Boston's Birdsongs of the Mesozoic certainly conjoins more than its share of musical continents. The quartet features personnel first documented on 1995's Dancing on A'A, plus five additional guests who mostly round out the percussion department. Notably present is ex-Mission of Burma icon Roger Miller (piano on two tracks). Miller played an instrumental role in getting the group off the ground back in the the '80s, along with pianist Erik Lindgren. Since ...

231
Album Review

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic: Dancing on A'A

Read "Dancing on A'A" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Dancing on A'A documents the improvising quartet Birdsongs of the Mesozoic early in their second decade. It's highly unusual for a group of improvisers to stick together for over 20 years, but this is hardly an average group. While other stable musical units might doggedly pursue the same style to perfection, Birdsongs aims for the anti-style. Anything that crosses genre boundaries is fair game for this group.

On Dancing on A'A, electric and acoustic instruments arrive at fruitful collisions. Birdsongs ...

243
Album Review

Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic: Petrophonics

Read "Petrophonics" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


With their 10th recording titled Petrophonics, Boston Massachusetts based “Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic” have perhaps achieved the pinnacle of mastery with this truly superb newly released effort. Here, pianist/composer Erik Lindgren and woodwind specialist Ken Field cap off a string of successful solo ventures as the duo realigns with guitarist Michael Bierylo and synthesizer ace Rick Scott for the band’s latest and first effort in over five years.

“BOTM” continues to defy any rigid semblance of categorization yet surge onward ...

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131

Performance / Tour

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Triassic Tour

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Triassic Tour

Source: All About Jazz

From July 24 - 30, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, featuring founding member Roger Miller (of Mission of Burma), will be playing five East Coast shows in support of the recent 2-CD release Dawn of the Cycads on Cuneiform Records. This package contains their complete recordings plus unreleased material for the Boston-based Ace of Hearts Records (Mission of Burma, Lyres, etc). The original line, with current Birdsongs guitarist Michael Bierylo filling in for Martin Swope, will perform music exclusively from their ...

154

Performance / Tour

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Triassic Tour 2009

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Triassic Tour 2009

Source: All About Jazz

From July 24 - 30, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, featuring founding member Roger Miller (of Mission of Burma), will be playing five East Coast shows in support of the recent 2-CD release Dawn of the Cycads on Cuneiform Records. This package contains their complete recordings plus unreleased material for the Boston-based Ace of Hearts Records (Mission of Burma, Lyres, etc). The original line, with current Birdsongs guitarist Michael Bierylo filling in for Martin Swope, will perform music exclusively from their ...

"Cacophony meets classicism in a mesmerizing instrumental venture into the space-age jungle. Boston-based quartet breaks new ground without breaking eardrums." --Billboard

"One of America's most original bands." --Honolulu Star-Bulletin

"...a virtual reality that is both primordial and ultramodern." --The Boston Phoenix

"Birdsongs of the Mesozoic has found a common ground amid garage band rock, classical, minimalism, British progressive rock, and its own favorite noises." --Jon Pareles, The New York Times

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Dawn of the Cycads

Cuneiform Records
2008

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Extreme Spirituals

Cuneiform Records
2006

buy

2001 Live Birds

NEARFest Records
2004

buy

The Iridium...

Cuneiform Records
2003

buy

Dancing on A'A

Cuneiform Records
2001

buy

Petrophonics

Cuneiform Records
2000

buy

Ptoccata

From: Dawn of the Cycads
By Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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