Ben Kono Group CMA New Jazz Works Commission

Imagine the peaceful world of this flightless bird, suddenly shattered by the arrival of Dutch colonists and their terrifying pets in the 1600s as the island of Mauritius becomes the site of our most infamous extinction in modern history. Then, imagine an alternate fantasy in which an uber intelligent hero among the Dodos has discovered the secret of flight and devises a flying machine to drive out the invading species, surpassing humans with their superior technology and preserving the well-being of this flightless bird. We wake from the dream and the Dodo has faded from our memory as an almost mythological species, represented only by primitive sketches and eyewitness accounts handed down over countless generations. This is the first movement of a suite of vignettes, each dwelling on a particular way mankind has influenced the environment, and was made possible by a grant from Chamber Music America: New Jazz Works and through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. It features the incredible talents of Pete McCann (guitar), Mike Holober (piano), Kermit Driscoll (bass), Satoshi Takeishi (drums) and Ben Kono (composer and woodwinds). Premiere performance at Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY on June 24, 2014.