Paul Winter Consort - Artists-In-Residence and Living Music (1978 - 1993)

1993)

After the release of the ground-breaking album Common Ground, Winter founded Living Music, his own personal record label. Almost all of Winter's musical endeavors have since been released on the Living Music label. Having his own record label allowed him to take the time he desired to create his albums, and allowed him to create them using naturally acoustic spaces as opposed to the artificial acoustics of a recording studio.

Another new change came 1979 when Winter and the Paul Winter Consort agreed to be the artists-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. There, Winter met pianist and organist Paul Halley, who would become a performer and composer for the Paul Winter Consort for 20 years. Winter and his Consort began organizing many different events at the Cathedral, and in turn the Cathedral allowed the use of its very reverberant sanctuary (with a measured seven seconds of reverberation time) and its organ for the creation of new albums.

The Consort appeared on many of Winter's projects throughout the 1980s. With their new lineup of Paul Winter on soprano saxophone, Nancy Rumbel on oboe and English horn, Paul Halley on piano and organ, ground-breaking jazz cellist Eugene Friesen, Jim Scott on guitars, and world percussionist Ted Moore, The Consort recorded Winter's album Callings, which further examined the possibility of creating music with wildlife. As a result of this album, March 1st was designated as the International Day of the Seal. It was also in 1980 that the first Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice celebrations were planned at the Cathedral, which have been an annual event since their creation. Another project taken on as a result of their position as artists-in-residence was the Earth Mass, a contemporary mass which includes music from around the world and the use of the sounds of wolves, whales, and loons to create the melodies for each of the movements. The mass was completed and premiered in 1982, and featured a choir of 300, and vocalist Susan Osborn, a former member of the Consort.

Another first for Winter and his Consort came in 1985. Now including guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves and percussionist Glen Velez, the Consort took a number of rafting expeditions down the Colorado River, eventually recording the Paul Winter album Canyon in the inlets and side canyons of the Grand Canyon. The album was a new experiment, with Winter playing with the natural acoustics of the Grand Canyon. 1985 also marked the first release by the Paul Winter Consort since 1972: a live album recorded at the United Nations titled Concert For The Earth. The concert was part of the 40th birthday celebration of the UN, and also was a landmark accomplishment for Winter. The concert featured a 'reunion' consort of 12 musicians, with the addition of new Consort bassist Russ Landau, former member Susan Osborn, and guest musicians, including a 90 piece choir.

By 1987, the Consort had had another lineup change: Jim Scott had left the group, flautist Rhonda Larson became part of the group, and Neil Clark had joined as a percussionist. It was during this time that the group made a new connection: The Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble, a vocal group from Russia that was dedicated to the performance of traditional Russian folk music, had agreed to create an album with Winter. The milestone album, Earthbeat, was recorded in both New York City and Moscow, and was the first album of original music created by Americans and Russians together. This achievement came only a few years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.

An 'extended' Paul Winter Consort of 18 musicians was also featured on Winter's 1990 album Earth: Voices Of A Planet. The album was a commissioned work to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, and was premiered in Times Square. 1990 also saw the group record a new album: The Man Who Planted Trees. The album was a companion to the narration of the story of the same name by Jean Giono. The album featured Mark Perchanok on heckelphone. Another Paul Winter Consort album came in 1991: a live recording from the 1978 Paul Winter Consort and guests called Turtle Island. This large piece also featured the poetry of Gary Snyder. Also in 1991, the Consort was featured as a backing band on Paul Halley's solo album Angel On A Stone Wall.

The next record featured a lineup change once again, with Russ Landau being replaced by bassist Eliot Wadiopan. The 1993 Spanish Angel was the group's first Grammy award winning album (although some of Winter's albums which the Consort was featured on had won Grammy awards in the past decade). The album was the group's third live album, recorded during their 1992 tour of Spain.