Why would one particular bird accumulate an extensive musical intonation? How might the mimicry and borrowing of sounds from its environment—and its later reconfiguration—shape and inform its world? In Untitled, (teaser for a hidden phrase), David Zink Yi begins to examine this specific songbird’s enigmatic language system by posing questions in tandem with a four-piece woodwind and horn arrangement. Since the bird spends its life learning up to 3,000 individual song phrases, its being-in-the-world is in a perpetual state of reconfiguration, of improvisation. It is here where Zink Yi draws comparison to the human world, investigating the formulations of musical genres of the African diaspora throughout the Americas, wondering what happens to us when one feature replaces another, putting our enunciation into constant motion. This piece is part of ongoing research into the ontological implications of improvisation, repetition and transformation.

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In collaboration with Regis Molina

All alto saxophone: Regis Molina
All traverse flutes: Regis Molina
All baritone saxophone: Regis Molina
Trumpet: Yuliesky Gonzalez Guerra
Voice: Sundara Ziegler

Recording, mixing and mastering: Matthias Millhoff

Special Thanks to: Sundara Ziegler, Johannes Steyer, Ben Lewis, Angie Keefer (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/)