Ralph spends a brief time talking about the dangers presented by Donald Trump during this lame duck period. But then we pivot away from the tumult of the election and the pandemic to a more contemplative and soothing topic by playing selections from “earth music” saxophonist and composer, Paul Winter, who tells us the stories behind his musical collaborations with nature.
Paul Winter is a seven-time Grammy winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He founded Living Music as the recording context for his ensemble, the Paul Winter Consort. His music includes some of the world’s finest jazz, world, and classical musicians, along with sounds from wildlife, which he refers to as “the greater symphony of the Earth.” Mr. Winter has recorded more than 50 albums. His ensemble was the first jazz ensemble to ever perform at the White House, invited by First Lady Jackie Kennedy back in 1962. As Mr. Winter sought musical sounds in nature, he became more of an environmental activist and for many years he has worked to raise awareness about the threats facing the natural environment. His latest album just released is “Light of the Sun”.
“Dr. Roger Payne discovered that these patterns that [whales] sing some of which are as long as 30 minutes and as complex as a Beethoven symphony are repeated again and again verbatim by all of the whales in that area of the sea. And you come back the next year and you put your hydrophones in the water and you find they have a new song and they’re all singing it as if almost they have a kind of Top 40 in the underwater realm.”
Paul Winter, “earth music” composer, whose new album is “Light of the Sun”
“Roger Payne who recorded them in the 60s. He hypothesized that before the era of noise pollution in the ocean from ships that not only did whale songs travel thousands of miles that it’s possible they went all the way around the world. So that a whale off Antarctica might communicate with a whale off Greenland. We’ll never know. But because of the density of water, sound travels much faster and further than it does in air.”
Paul Winter, “earth music” composer, whose new album is “Light of the Sun”
“Now comes Joe Biden and he’s already being told by his associates, do not answer a question from the press that says are you going to let the Trump Administration off. Do not do that. Let the Justice Department pursue the course under the rule of law. If he says the same thing as Obama he will have disastrously lowered the level of the rule of law affecting presidents in succeeding administrations.”
Ralph Nader
“We’re learning more and more about whales, not just as magnificent mammals in the ocean but how they contribute to the global environment. How they churn up the plankton. Plankton in the ocean absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide. We’re talking huge quantities. And if the plankton start being reduced in number it’s something like cutting down parts of the Amazon rainforest.”
Ralph Nader
Lame Ducks and Musical Whales