It is safe to say that Paul is one of the most well-known exponents of the oboe within the jazz scene. Born in 1947 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and a gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, Paul specializes in the oboe, English horn, bass clarinet, soprano and sopranino saxophones and a collection of folk flutes reflecting his grounding in both classical and jazz disciplines. As a collaborator and solo artist, he has performed on more than 200 albums and appeared with such renowned all-star musicians as Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Wynton Marsalis, Lyle Mays, Mark Isham, Steve Reich, Al Jarreau, Bruce Hornsby, Art Lande, Carla Bley, Tony Furtado, the String Cheese Incident, Nguyen Le, Proteus 7, Fred Simon, and many more. In 1996, Paul won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. He also won Grammys in 2007 and 2011 with the Paul Winter Consort, for Best New Age Album. And Paul’s performance on the Oregon CD “1000 kilometers” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2009.
This album’s full title is ‘Morning Sun: Adventures With Oboe’ and attempts to provide a retrospective of his recordings with the Paul Winter Consort, with music recorded as long ago as 1971, and as recently as 2015. Needless to say, trying to condense such a long musical career into just eight songs is impossible, but the selection does show a variety of styles. There are some actuals songs, where his role is much more of being an accompanist, while others allow him to show his more classical side, others a soaring free spirit of jazz, and some that are far more reflective and almost ambient. The result is an album that works well as an introduction, a sampler of his wares, and is one that will lead me to investigate more works from this consummate musician.
