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| Paul Winter Spearheads Flyways Double Album Music And Conservation Project Seven-Time Time Grammy Award-Winning saxophonist, bandleader and world and jazz music legend, Paul Winter has launched am IndieGoGo crowd funding campaign in support of his current music and conservation project Flyways. This labor of love spans seven years and connects musicians from 16 countries across the world's most important bird migration routes, the Great Rift Valley. More than half a billion birds annually migrate along this aerial highway between Europe and Eurasia and southern Africa over Turkey and the Middle East. The Flyways double album will chronicle the birds' journeys, using the music from the cultures over which they fly, interweaving the voices of the birds into the music. "The goal of Flyways, is to awaken awareness about the migration and the challenges the birds face, as well as bring attention to the endangered music traditions in some of the indigenous cultures found along the migration route, " says Winter. Exclusive perks available via the Flyways IndieGoGo campaign include: autographed CDs, signed lithographs, t-shirts, books, hand-written melodies and one-of-a-kind experiences including a luncheon at Paul Winter's farm. The album is being produced under the aegis of Winter's 501(c)(3) nonprofit Music for the Earth, Inc., ensuring that contributions are tax deductible. In addition, a portion of proceeds from Flyways will benefit the world's largest nature conservation partnership, BirdLife International Conceptualized after Winter's trip over Israel in a motorized glider, flying with a group of migrating storks, Flyways hopes to raise awareness of Afro-Palearctic migratory birds—long-distance migrants that breed in Europe and winter in sub-Saharan Africa— whose populations have suffered substantial declines over the past 30 years due to habitat degradation, hunting, and the effects of climate change. Under the birds' aerial highway, many of the indigenous music traditions are undervalued and likewise in in decline and their cultural heritage is in also danger of disappearing. During the past seven years, Winter and his musical collaborator Chris Berry traveled to countries along the Rift Valley to learn about the music and meet musicians with whom they could collaborate. Along the way, they encountered musical cultures ranging from the joyful drumming of the Wagogo tribe of Tanzania, to the Nakibembe people of Uganda, who play a xylophonic instrument known as the amadinda, to the mbira, or thumb piano, music of Zimbabwe's Shona people. Music for a Greater Purpose In many cultures, music and dance are considered far more than mere entertainment, being an intrinsic part of life itself, used for ceremonies, and having the power to heal, to harmonize relations within a society and between society and nature, Winter says. The influence of western culture, the spread of technology, and fragmentation of societies and families means that now many traditions of music are undervalued and in decline. They rest in the hands of a few elders who report a lack of interest in the next generation to carry on the heritage. If the music disappears, it carries with it a whole body of cultural knowledge. Contributions raised through the IndieGoGo campaign will enable the project to bring the musicians from their respective countries to a central location, Istanbul, Turkey, to collaborate on creating new music together, and also to record. Funds will also cover accommodations for the musicians, as well as post-production costs in the US. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Jazz News :: home page |