Sarah Belle Reid + Vinny Golia

Infrequent Seams

Accidental Ornithology is a collection of fourteen improvisations from Sarah Belle Reid and Vinny Golia, each inspired by the unique calls and behaviors of imaginary birds—from the grumbling cry of the “Autumn Bog Fowl” to the chaotic flight patterns of the “Red Crested Floobog.”

This limited-edition CD, which includes intricate hand drawn artwork and a fold-out poster by M.A. Tiesenga, maps an expanding catalog of invented species through sound.
The collaboration merges Reid’s trumpet, quarter-tone flugelhorn, modular synthesizer, and MaxMSP processing with Golia’s quarter-tone contrabass flute, piccolo, and clarinet. Their spontaneous exchanges shift between aggressive, delicate, unstable, and playful—music that refuses to sit still, where each moment feels both meticulously crafted and entirely unpredictable.

Reid’s approach to sound has been described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as ranging from “graceful” and “danceable” to “silk-falling-through-space” and “pit-full-of-centipedes”—a sonic vocabulary that pairs naturally with Golia’s broad instrumental range.

“The morning of our recording session, Vinny and I were sitting in his kitchen joking around and dreaming up all kinds of impossible and fantastical birds,” explains Reid, whose work combines contemporary classical music, experimental electronics, and improvisation. “But at the same time, we’d diverge into long, thoughtful conversations about sound and listening.”

This balance of personalities comes through in the music on Accidental Ornithology, which is both tongue-in-cheek and deeply sincere. The improvisations turn on a dime, launching from meandering melodies into sudden burps and gurgles and back again in the span of minutes.

A multi-woodwind performer who has shared stages with Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, and Joelle Leandre, Golia was named by Jazziz Magazine as one of the 100 people who have influenced the course of jazz in our century. His technical command across jazz, contemporary classical, and world music traditions combines with Reid’s hybrid electroacoustic setup to create something entirely new.

Accidental Ornithology captures Reid and Golia’s imagined ecosystem, where multiphonics become mating rituals, electronic manipulations suggest evolutionary quirks, and trumpet squeals blend with woodwind chirps into strange dawn choruses.

“One minute we’re exploring these microscopic sound worlds, and the next we’re cackling like a pair of confused seabirds,” says Reid. “That’s the best part about improvising—it can go any direction imaginable. It’s all about listening deeply, taking chances, and letting go.”