In Consort: Paul Winter 85

Paul Winter Consort - The Promise of a Fisherman

We'll sneak this on in under the wire for August, in celebration of a musical and ecological veteran and his milestone birthday today.

Did you know that today's guy was part of the first Jazz concert ever at the White House, as honored guest of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy?

I was Today Years Old when I learned that.

That was in 1962. By 1967 our hero had formed his Consort, which he's had, in one configuration or another, ever since.

This group helped usher in both the World Music era and the era -- still, thankfully, ongoing -- in which musicians got involved in ecological activism.

I call him the John Muir of Jazz, which he'd likely appreciate.

It is alleged to have started when he heard a recording of humpback whale calls in the late 1960s.

His Consort was one of the first to incorporate the sounds of wildlife into a Jazz record, and their 1977 LP -- documented on tour in today's share fare -- featured this aspect heavily.

Their Icarus album from 1974 is where the members of the band Oregon first played together.

In 1980, he formed his own label, called Living Music, as an outlet for his vision.

This led to him becoming artist-in-residence at The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s.

Perhaps the muso most associated with the Save The Whales initiative, he's also heavily involved in the preservation of wolves in the wild, and has recorded songs around their vocalizations as you'll see in the concert here.

And a mighty fine concert it is, and wouldn't you know it's another one of those lifted and reassembled from that other Gang of Wolves.

Paul Winter Consort

Bottom Line

New York City, New York USA

6.28.1978

01 Mountain Wedding/band introductions

02 Ballad In 7/8

03 Ocean Dream

04 Ancient Voices (Nhemamusasa)

05 Lay Down Your Burden

06 Happy Guru

07 The Promise of a Fisherman

08 Minuit/Whole Earth Chant

09 Wolf Eyes

10 Icarus

Total time: 1:33:30

disc break goes after Track 06

Tracks 01-08 are from the late show

Tracks 09 & 10 are from the early show

Paul Winter - saxophones, reeds, keyboards & vocals 

David Darling - cello

Nancy Rumbel - oboe, English horn, piano & vocals 

Michael Blair - drums & percussion 

Jim Scott - guitar 

John Guth - bass & guitar 

Michael Holmes - keyboards & vocals

Warren Bernhardt - piano

with special guests:

Dr. Paul Berliner - mbira & vocals

Susan Osborn - vocals

additional vocals provided by the ensemble

320/48k audio streamed from Wolfgang's Vault

spectral analysis goes to 20 kHz, making this essentially equivalent to a preFM source

converted to 16/44 CD Audio, repaired, denoised, retracked and somewhat remastered by EN, August 2024
509 MB FLAC/direct link

That wraps up August, and I've already looked at September so I'd remember to make it memorable.

Do enjoy these 93 minutes of blissness, though... I was gonna say it's a whale of a show! And a suitable celebratory artifact to honor the 85th b'day of Paul Winter!--J.