The recently-discovered basso-rumbles of the African elephant, the mimicry of the Australian lyrebird, a representative instrument and voice from each continent and the music of the Consort together with 18 guest artists are brought together in this celebration commissioned for the 20th anniversary of Earth Day and premiered in Times Square, New York. New compositions in tribute to the seven continents and oceans interweave the sounds of the wilderness musicians and the extended Paul Winter Consort in a far-reaching musical journey.
Reviews
"The spirit of our living planet abides on this album. Using kaleidoscopic combinations of human and other animal voices ranging from the familiar to the exotic, Winter leads us into eight of Earth's critical environments, and brings us into contact with that spirit." (St. Louis Dispatch)
"A celebration of the diversity and spirit of life on earth [...]. The plethora of guest and ethnic instruments expand Winter's recorded vocabulary [...] This joyous amalgamation is remarkably well realized." (IT'S HIP!)
"This musical offering was created by the Paul Winter Consort and friends to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. "Earth: Voices of a Planet" is another release that does a good job of showcasing the diverse creativity of this group's work, with a special focus on their efforts to collaborate with wildlife and the environment. The tone of the album tends toward the classically symphonic and avant garde as the consort staples of pipe organ, cello, flute, saxophone, piano and French horn blend with the calls of elephants, whales and birds, and the sounds of water and wind. Moods of the compositions range from cheerful to mysterious, playful to respectful. As in much of Winter's work, the animals are often allowed to take the lead while the human musicians follow along, respectfully and artfully arranging their melodies and harmonies around the voices of their creature counterparts. Also as usual, the music is fascinating to follow: never boring and never the same. Yet there is a continuity to the Winter Consort's work and a consistency to their voice. Drawing inspiration from many corners of the world, these musicians consistently find ways to blend diverse elements into a harmonious and triumphant whole. Defying traditional categorizations like jazz, classical, ethnic or New Age, their music creates a style unto itself, and one well worth hearing!" -
- Brianna Neal (listener)
"A fabulous CD. Each track represents a different continent. And on each track Winter has mixed natural sounds from that location with his saxophone and the other musicians." - Gontroppo (musician and piano teacher)
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ARTISTS
The Paul Winter Consort and Friends
PAUL WINTER (soprano and alto sax)
EUGENE FRIESEN(cello)
PAUL HALLEY (keyboards)
GLEN VELEZ (percussion)
RHONDA LARSON (flute)
OSCAR CASTRO-NEVES (guitar)
DAVID DARLING (cello)
RUSS LANDAU (bass)
PAUL McCANDLESS (oboe)
JOHN CLARK (French horn)
TED MOORE (percussion)
PAUL WERTICO (drums)
KENNY MAZUR (steel-string guitar)
PAUL BERLINER (percussion)
KWAKU DADEY (Ghanaian drums)
THIAGO DE MELLO (voice, guitar, percussion)
STEVE TURRE (didjeridu)
GUILHERME FRANCO (percussion)
THE DIMITRI POKROVSKY SINGERS (Maria Nefedova, Elena Sidorenko, Tamara Smyslova, Anna Konukhova, Nina Savitskaya, Irina Ponomaryova)
credits
released January 1, 1990
Produced by: Russ Landau, Paul Winter, Eugene Friesen, Rhonda Larson, Paul Halley
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....more
