JAZZ AT BARD PRESENTS GRAMMY-NOMINATED BAND OREGON IN CONCERT ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— For three decades Oregon has inspired audiences in renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Vienna’s Mozartsaal; in international jazz clubs and at major festivals on tour throughout every continent. On Saturday, October 16, Jazz at Bard presents the quartet, in concert, at Bard College’s Olin Hall, at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20; free for Bard students.
“At the core of an Oregon concert is a joyful embracing of adventure, a willingness by four virtuoso improvisers to expose their creative processes to an audience,” writes Jeff McLaughlin in the Boston Globe. “Rooted in jazz, but drawing from musical wellsprings all around the world, the quartet aspires to transcend its sources and create compelling, new music with every performance.” Quartet members are Ralph Towner, guitar and piano; Paul McCandless, woodwinds; Glen Moore, acoustic bass; and Mark Walker, drums and percussion.
Oregon began in 1960 at the University of Oregon with undergraduates Towner and Moore. Together they joined the Paul Winter Consort, and in 1970 they teamed up with fellow Consort members McCandless and sitar and tabla player Collin Walcott. Their 1978 recording Out of the Woods was included in the 101 Best Jazz Albums list by Len Lyons. In 1984 Walcott died in an auto accident in the former East Germany. Percussionist Mark Walker became the fourth member of Oregon in 1996. The double CD Oregon in Moscow was the debut recording of the group’s orchestral repertoire, performing with the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, and has received four Grammy nominations.
Organized by two Bard alumnae, Raissa St. Pierre '87 and Sheila Moloney '84, the Jazz at Bard series is an ongoing effort to bring internationally recognized jazz performers to the Hudson Valley.
For further information, to purchase tickets, or for reservations, call 845-758-7456, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.bard.edu/jazzatbard. Reservations and advance ticket purchase are recommended. #
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS “His lines hurtle forward with precise alacrity and, as much as any other element, have defined the sound of Oregon since its inception,” writes Neil Tesser in the Chicago Tribune of Paul McCandless. He has performed with Jaco Pastorius, Cala Bely, Arte Lande/Dave Samuels, Eberhard Weber, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Steve Reich, Al Jarreau, and Bruce Hornsby, among others. His recordings include All the Mornings Bring, Navigator, Heresay, and Premonition. McCandless has recorded three albums and toured with Béla Fleck, with whom he won a Grammy in 1996 for Best Pop Instrumental.
“Wielding his instrument with ascetic authority, Glen Moore eschewed the bassist’s more common role as a rhythmic and harmonic anchor in order to play intuitive, colloquial lines that ventured inventively,” wrote Mikal Gilmore in Rolling Stone. He has worked with many great jazz artists including Gary Burton, Mark Dresser, Bill Evans, Charlie Haden, Jan Hammer, Dave Holland, Larry Karush, Gary Peacock, Hollis Taylor, and John Taylor. He has also performed with Taj Mahal, Glen Velez, Ravi Shankar, and the Kronos Quartet. His most recent solo recordings are Nude Bass Ascending, featuring Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Rabih Abou-Khalil, and Arto Tuncboyaciayn, and King on the Road, featuring Nancy King and Rob Scheps.
“Impeccable technique, compositional brilliance and evocative improvisation . . .” note Dan Ouellette in Down Beat of pianist, guitarist, and composer Ralph Towner. He has recorded over 40 albums under his own name and collaborated in concert or recording with Keith Jarrett, Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, and many others. His works for orchestra have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphony. He was composer in residence of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the AT&T–Rockefeller Foundation has commissioned his works. Apollo astronauts carried his music on cassette to the moon and officially named two moon craters after his compositions.
“Mark Walker demonstrates a scintillating command of rhythms from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent,” writes Neil Tesser in the Chicago Tribune. “He also combines a subtle textural awareness with meticulous attention to the beat.” He has joined Paquito D Rivera on a number of projects, including the Grammy award–winning Portraits of Cuba. He has recorded and toured with musicians such as Patricia Barber, Fareed Haque, Lyle Mays, and Fred Simon. In 1996 he won Jazziz magazine’s “Percussion on Fire” competition with a track featuring Dave Onderdonk. # # # (9/13/04)

This event was last updated on 10-19-2004

Back to Top