Oregon

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.

A musical score created by The Oregon Trio for a production of the Shakespeare play by the Oregon Shakespeare Theater in Ashland, Oregon in 1998.

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."

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. […] This is fusion music, to be sure, but it's the kind of fusion musicians have been trying unsuccessfully to emulate for decades. Music of Another Present Era is one of the most poetic and groundbreaking records to be released in the 1970s. ~Thom Jurek, All Music

One of the earliest and finest exponents of world jazz, Oregon began life in 1970 as an offshoot of the Paul Winter Consort, in which the group's original members had played. From the beginning, the band eschewed most jazz conventions. Percussionist Collin Walcott played tabla, sitar, and dulcimer, among other instruments, but did not use a trap set; bassist Glen Moore doubled on clarinet, viola, and piano, and its front line was formed by a double-reedist (Paul McCandless) and an acoustic guitarist (Ralph Towner).

As of this recording, three out of four members of Oregon have been playing together in the group for 42 years. Drummer and percussionist Mark Walker has been on board since 1996, making them among the longest-running small groups in jazz history. Given their long-established sound and collective sense of pan-global adventure, Oregon have remained vital, restless, and disciplined. Family Tree features five new Ralph Towner compositions plus two utterly reworked – and superior – versions of others recorded on his solo offerings, two new Paul McCandless numbers, a new one by Glen Moore, and two collective compositions from the band. Family Tree is the first recording since 1989's 45th Parallel that does not feature any group improvisation.

Fine late '70s material from the acoustic band Oregon. Despite the title, it's not violin-dominated material, but their standard blend of Asian, European, African, and American elements and influences.