Paul McCandless jazz oboe reeds Paul McCandless – MORNING SUN-ADVENTURES WITH OBOE: Though I “grew up” listening to Paul’s reed work (way back in the day), I wasn’t doing music reviews at the time, so I’m very happy to have received this retrospective look at his work with the Paul Winter Consort… as you listen to great tunes like “Sunset On The Great Sand Dunes” (most samples are unavailable right now, as the album is in pre-release stage; keep checking that page – they should soon be posted), you will agree that Paul’s oboe meshes perfectly with the beautiful strings on the piece, I’ve no doubt.
One tune that did have a sample is the beautiful opener, “All The Mornings Bring“… one thing the promo sheets point out is that the celebration of Paul’s work is due to his “genre-bending”, and I believe this is a really great example of that… no “smooth jazz” here, this is oboe with intestinal fortitude… loved this one, for sure. (Advisory: listen to this tune with your headphones on… you will be carried away; in fact, there is over an hour’s worth of music here, so zone out the time, put your headphones on and go undisturbed for the full 65 minutes).
If it’s something more jazzy you are seeking to listen to, you will fall in love right away with “Um Abraco” (A Big Hug)… again, Paul’s high talent and diverse abilities are on full display here.
Of the sixteen songs offered up, though, it is the closer, “Morning Sun“, which easily won my pick as personal favorite… the tune length had something to do with that, I expect (this is the longest cut on the album, at 6:33), but it is a sonic adventure in and of itself. I give the folks who pulled this album together a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.97 for this fine release. Get more information at Paul Winter’s pre-release page for the album. Rotcod Zzaj
