Oregon

Multi-instrumentalists Ralph Towner and Paul McCandless first met while studying at the University of Oregon in 1960 and, united by a love of jazz, classical and Brazilian music, have worked on fusing the genres and creating new musical landscapes ever since. After college, they separately took classical training in Europe before reuniting as part of New York's experimental scene and backing folk singer Tim Hardin at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. It was there they were recruited to join the Paul Winter Consort, an ensemble who were early figures in new age jazz fusion music and helped shape and expand Towner and McCandless's ideas. With bassist Glen Moore and sitar player Collin Walcott they initially formed Oregon as a side project, but went on to release debut album 'Music of Another Present Era' in 1972 and became a seminal force in avant-garde music for more than 40 years. Their melting pot of global sounds was particularly noted for its use of Indian instruments and scales, and albums such as 'Distant Hills' in 1973, 'Out of the Woods' in 1978 and 'Crossing' in 1985 are often cited as important, groundbreaking examples of fusion music. Despite the death of Walcott in a car crash, the band continued on their meandering musical journey and took part in a boundary-pushing collaboration with the Tchaikovsky Orchestra on album 'In Moscow' and recorded a soundtrack to the Shakespeare play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Still as eclectic and forward thinking as ever, they released their 30th studio album 'Lantern' in 2017 through CamJazz Records.

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