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A celebration of whales in poetry, prose and music, with original compositions by sax and pipe organ, based on melodies by humpback whales themselves.

Improvising in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in response to recordings of the whale songs, Paul Winter and Paul Halley extend the whale melodies in a way similar perhaps to the manner in which the whales themselves gradually change and grow their long, complex songs. Readings from the prose and poetry of D.H.Lawrence, Herman Melville, Gary Snyder and Roger Payne, Leonard Nimoy gives voice with the same awe for whales which inspired the plot for the film STAR TREK™ IV. The whole is a celebration of whales in poetry, prose and music.

"A haunting record that you won't forget and you'll play over and over again." (EXPRESS NEWS)

"WHALES ALIVE actually creates an astounding integration of musical voices, which serves to emphasize the raw, primal and intensely musical quality of the whales as they sing. These pristine, unadulterated voices of nature, subtly shaded by human instruments, have an eerie, haunting, irresistible quality." (DALLAS TIMES HERALD)

Paul Winter is a seven-time Grammy-winning saxophonist, whose sextet was the first jazz group to perform at the White House in 1962. His second group, the Paul Winter Consort, interweaves sounds from the natural world with classical and ethnic traditions, and the spontaneous spirit of jazz. Their annual Winter Solstice Celebrations and Earth Mass are among the most popular events in New York.

1. paulwinter.com