This post is part of a series. You can read the introduction to the series here.

This song is a very good example of my odd focus on rhythms, riffs, less common time signatures harmonies, and less common instrumentation in music. It has it all. First off, there are no lyrics; all the vocals are just sounds. It starts off as a single melody backed by minimal instrumentation behind the voices, then it gets repeated with harmonies; other instruments and melodies are introduced until it’s a jam. Then in the middle, there is a pretty big shift in the B section, finally returning to a finale again for the A section.

Below is a Youtube video of a live performance of the song, and I enjoy that, but the album recording also features a trombone soloist which makes it better to me.

Paper Bird was released on the two-volume Carry On album. Here’s what the wikipedia page has to say about it. I’m going to have to see if I can find a video of the ballet.

In the fall of 2010, Paper Bird began working with Ballet Nouveau Colorado. The band composed the music for a ballet entitled Carry On. Their music was then combined with the choreography and films by Garrett Ammon, it thus became a multi-media performance which debuted at the Lakewood Cultural Center on February 4, 2011, and was played to sold-out houses in February. Carry On was released as a full-length, two-act live album on June 11, 2011. They recorded it live onstage with the ballerinas. Paper Bird hired Mark Anderson and Stelth Ulvang to perform the ballet. Anderson was inducted to the band’s roster after the ballet.