Finally an LP by Paul McCandless is republished. This 1979 recording was in my opinion a jazz/chamber opus. It combined three great musicians, Paul, David Samuals, and Art Lande, and with it’s unique instrumentation stimulated a deep rare neuronal space of sound.
A quote from the liner notes:
The rather unusual instrumentations on Mornings Bring — reed/mallet/piano trios, and woodwinds octet plus bass and/or mallets — presented McCandless with a challenge well met. Without the traditional foundation of bass and drums, the trio tunes gain shape and texture via the expanded roles of the mallets, piano and reeds, as the functions of melody, harmony and bass are divided and exchanged among the instruments.
— Michael Zipkin
Here is a sample 4 minutes of the first cut which is 10.21 minutes long, “St. Philomene” featuring:
- Paul McCandless: Oboe
- Art Lande: Piano
- David Samuels: Vibraphone, Marimba, Percussion
(Copyright holders: if this is not fair use, let me know.)
I don’t know if it’s great. I like it. Note that Paul no longer plays like that too much, afaik, trills (?) in the upper register, in the group Oregon. An example of the style change Oregon’s work or Shapeshifter. Anyway, that sample was stating the theme and the rest of that piece explores it. That mallets and piano can play so well together is amazing.
It is perfect. The only critique would be that the original liner notes were not included. The notes had a lot of info and more background on the music and artists. For example, the chamber music group was ‘Columbia 30th Street’.
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Paul McCandless
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Art Lande
Related
Antonio Calogero & Paul McCandless – May or Mai – Classical Guitar & Soprano Sax
Antonio Calogero & Paul McCandless – Untitled – Classical Guitar, Oboe & Soprano Sax
Art Lande and Rubisa Patrol – Rubisa Patrol (1977) Part-1
Antonio Calogero & Paul McCandless – Honduras – Acoustic Guitar & Oboe
Nguyen Lê Quartet feat. Paul McCandless Coesfeld Germany 2
Dave Samuels – Berklee Percussion Festival 2009 – Bemsha Swing
Danza Multietnica Part II-III – Antonio Calogero Ensemble feat. Paul McCandless
Lyle Mays-Paul McCandless – Turning To You.flv
Jason Argos and Paul McCandless – ‘Round Midnight
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Live Mix – Antonio Calogero Ensemble feat. Paul McCandless
Josef's Blog 
enkerli:
Glad that my post was useful to you. I just put on “All the Morning Bring” from Paul’s album. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you. That is the best rendition. Organic is the perfect term. Your memory is not giving it a certain twinge. It is great.
Though Oregon in Moscow is superb when seen on its own (certainly more varied and powerful then much out there, Paul’s CD really has a very unique effect. I still would pick both for that “one of few things to take to that deserted island question”.
Anyway, thanks for the comments. I highly recommend the CD. I think I already wore it away from replaying “St. Philomene” over and over.
Cheers.
The CD has been shipped. Can’t wait to get it… 😉
(The MP3 seems unavailable…)
Didn’t realize this album was available on CD. Was hoping it might be and did a search for it, which is how I end up here.
This is one of my favourite albums from an Oregon member and these guys have been among my favourite musicians for quite a while.
Although… It’s been such a long time since I’ve listened to this album (I don’t have a turntable, anymore) so maybe my nostalgia for it is making it into more than it was.
Specifically, I have fond memories of the title track, in large part because of the arrangement. (I’ve played in several concert bands and the wind ensemble on this album suits my concert band ear.) The “Oregon In Moscow” version of the same piece sounds more artificial, less “organic”. But it’s quite possible that my mind’s ear has created my positive impression of the 1979 version.
It’s actually this issue of arrangement which made me think of this album. Was listening to an orchestral version of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and kept thinking that the arrangement didn’t deliver the music’s full potential. Which sent me back to “In Moscow”.
By the way, I distinctly remember being frustrated that the ensemble musicians weren’t named, in the liner notes to the original LP. Maybe I got stuck with a different version from yours.
Anyhoo, belated thanks for the good news about this album! I’ll probably buy it on Amazon if I can find something to complement the order for free shipping. I’d rather get a digital download (I don’t even have a CD drive handy), but that doesn’t seem to be available.