Earth Music by Paul Winter

Some thoughts on “Earth Music”
by Paul Winter

Throughout the several decades of the Consort’s journey, the most perennial question we’ve been asked has been: “What do you call your music?” “Earth Music” is the response I’ve most often given, as that term embraces the totality of our field of play, and our long-going aspirations to celebrate the cultures and creatures of the whole Earth.

I feel it’s time to put forth the answer with music, in the form of an album. Included are pieces celebrating the Grand Canyon, the old-growth forest of our Northwest, the ocean, the moon, and our star, the sun, with its quadzillions of dancing particles. Consorting with us are representative voices from what we think of as “the greater symphony of the Earth”: Spotted Owl, Timber Wolf, African Fish Eagle, and Humpback Whale. And no album or concert to me is complete without an offering from the great mentor of our Consort heritage, Johann Sebastian Bach, whose music awakens in me a resonance with the soul of the Earth.

We have been blessed to have had many opportunities and adventures over the years, and to have been able to pursue our mission of creating music of beauty in the service of the community of all life.

Thank you for listening,

For living music,
Paul

Paul Winter is a seven-time Grammy-winning saxophonist, whose sextet was the first jazz group to perform at the White House in 1962. His second group, the Paul Winter Consort, interweaves sounds from the natural world with classical and ethnic traditions, and the spontaneous spirit of jazz. Their annual Winter Solstice Celebrations and Earth Mass are among the most popular events in New York.

paulwinter.com