Oregon Flac

Although Oregon was founded as an ensemble of soloists, their strength has always been their ability to integrate as a band, a result of their unusual combination of talent and curiosity. None of the members was content with just one instrumental style, but instead developed connections with classical Indian and European music, bluegrass, folk, jazz and experimental avant-garde. With such a solid musical foundation, the Oregon four needed to do little more than appear within a zeitgeist that welcomed improvisational and chamber jazz sounds, and before an audience that valued their wild mix of characters and compositional talents.

This recording celebrates the 35th anniversary of the unique folk/jazz group Oregon. The group originals, which include a five-song "Monterey Suite" (the final five selections), each contain their unpredictable moments and feature the four musicians both in interplay with each other and as the lead. Paul McCandless, who is in particularly rewarding form, generally takes honors even though Ralph Towner wrote the majority of the selections.

The Symphony receives a particularly warm and beautiful interpretation. DePreist has a sympathetic feeling for contrasts of textures; the tempi are excellently judged and atmospheres powerful, with a vigorous sense of energy, tension and release. The Sea Hawk, though, is allowed to wallow. Particular poignancy is added through the presence of Korngold’s granddaughter Kathrin as a violinist member of the orchestra.

Music of Another Present Era remains Oregon's most enduring masterwork. Achieving a perfect balance of musical traditions from the East and West, ancient to future, they set the stage not only for a new transculturalism in jazz, but also created a lasting template for the fusion of musics from world traditions that would flower over a decade later. The four participants in Oregon, oboist and pianist Paul McCandless, guitarist and pianist Ralph Towner, upright bassist and pianist Glen Moore, and the late multi-instrumentalist Collin Walcott, operated on the premise that melodic ideas and expansive harmonies all contributed to a music that didn't bridge cultures, but erased them and eradicated them.

Long before "New Age" and "World Music" became part of the musical-term language, Oregon was making music that would influence (directly or indirectly) those genres. During the early 1970s, the much-maligned fusion movement in jazz was building up steam, and Oregon, in their quiet, understated way, contributed greatly. The band played acoustically–all the players had jazz backgrounds as well as a strong interest in ethnic musics from around the globe.

This is one of only 2 discs Oregon recorded as a trio. The original quartet with percussionist/sitarist Colin Wallcot was intact until Walcott's death in a tour bus accident in November '84 after many recordings with the group. After a break, percussionist Trilok Gurtu entered the band for the next 3 recordings spanning a handful of years, but then departed. Instead of running out and hiring another percussionist, the remaining trio of founding members starting touring and recording as a trio, up until 1997's "Northwest Passage" CD, where they featured 2 different percusionists. The bands only other trio recording, following "Troika",is 1995's "Beyond Words" which takes a completely different approach as "Beyond" is basically a live-in-the-studio recording replicating an Oregon live performance in the context of a high quality studio sound recording.

The challenge facing any longstanding group is retaining its core qualities while remaining contemporary and vital as the years pass. Oregon may well be the longest-running group in jazz today, with three of its four members together since its inception in 1970. Its ability to combine detailed composition with near-telepathic free improvisation can still be heard on 1000 Kilometers, the group's 24th recording, but what's also immediately evident is a group that's by no means standing still. Had original percussionist/sitarist Colin Walcott not died in a tragic accident in 1984, it's a near certainty that he'd still be playing with woodwind multi-instrumentalist Paul McCandless, guitarist/keyboardist Ralph Towner and bassist Glen Moore today. Still, drummer/percussionist Mark Walker has been with the group for more than a decade, so it's time to stop considering him the new kid on the block.

Oregon - Our First Record (1970) {Vanguard–PJL Japan MTCJ-2550 rel 2004, Paper Sleeve}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 252 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 115 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970, 2004 Vanguard / PJL Japan | MTCJ-2550
Jazz / World Jazz / Progressive Jazz / Folk Jazz

Let's get one thing straight from the outset: Oregon is not nor were they Ever a "New Age" group. There is nothing saccahrinely simple or cloyingly pretty about this music - it is harmonically complex, rhythmically interesting and melodically uncliched. I have never understood why this band came to be labeled in such a facile and flagrantly inaccurate way. Along with bandleader Paul Winter (and coming from a completely different place,) Miles Davis, they were the true godfathers of what's come to be known as world jazz. Not to mention important contributors to 3rd stream music.

Oregon bothers jazz people because a) they're difficult to categorize, and b) they radiate endlessly cheerful vibes bordering on vacuous new age while maintaining a sharp improvisational edge. So goes this high-profile appearance on Columbia's spinoff label, which sometimes stays within the bounds of post-bop jazz yet is more likely to go veering off in contemplative folk-like, Asiatic, Spanish, or even neo-classical directions. Ralph Towner handles both the piano and various guitars and synthesizers with equal facility, while Paul McCandless' reed work evokes the pure white light of Paul Winter; Glen Moore continues to man the bass; Trilok Gurtu alternates between tabla and traps; and Nancy King checks in with a bout of eccentric scatting on "Chihuahua Dreams."

Helmuth Rilling is perhaps better known for his extensive recordings of Bach Cantatas, and here, I can only say that this is a very "Bach"-like approach to Handel's oratorio, with severe attention being given to the various themes, each being given weight and purpose. The Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra & Chorus both perform admirably, giving exact attention to Rilling's tempos. Among the soloists, Sibylla Rubens had the most pleasing, lightest tone, with alto Ingeborg Danz and baritone Thomas Quasthoff both swallowed and thick in their vocal qualities, and tenor James Taylor, giving a light, inconsequential reading to his arias. And since the soloists are also under the stern eye of Rilling's rigid direction, they are given little opportunity to bring an iota of warmth or emotion to their readings.