LIVING MUSIC  PAUL WINTER SEXTET/Count Me In1962-63: It's one thing to know Paul Winter has been around forever but this 50th anniversary collection of released and unreleased material outlines the difference between knowing it and KNOWING it. A fresh faced lad just out of Northwestern, Winter landed a deal with Columbia under the aegis of John Hammond and brought along his pals Warren Bernhardt, Richard Evans, Chuck Israels among others that we didn't KNOW were around back when the earth was cooling. He was hanging out with Denny Zeitlin as well, but Zeitlin already had his Miles Davis stripes so we know he was there when psychiatry was invented. (He wasn't in San Francisco yet because Lewis and Clark hadn't discovered it yet.) Meanwhile, before Winter was running with the wolves and examining nature, long before it was hip, he was a bebopper! This collection licenses the original Columbia sides and adds a White House command performance for the Kennedys because he was the Kennedy's fave jazzbo. They even hooked him and the crew up with the State Department for world tours. (You thought he was just some old hippie.) Disillusioned by the end of Camelot, the band broke up and the rest is history. Cutting his own path through the wilderness hasn't hurt Winter at all, but it's interesting to hear what might have been if the course of human events didn't throw one of it's unexpected monkey wrenches into the works. Of particular note to the young jazzbo out there; this doesn't sound like old man jazz a bit and the new mastering shows how much Hammond cared about his new find as what's brought out in the tape shines mightily. The more time that passes, the more there is to check out and the more that gets forgotten. Thanks for the trip through your back pages, Paul. You were always a gasser.-- Chris Spector --Midwest Record Entertainment 11-04-12I valueThe Winter Consort, Road,andIcarusin the same way I cherish Led Zeppelin 1, King Crimson'sIn the Court of the Crimson King, Circle's Paris Concert, Nick Drakes entire catalogue, and so on. No kidding, no exaggeration, If I could afford a vault, I'd place those LPs in there for safekeeping.... Thus, it's with a great deal of pleasure that I can point toCount Me In: 1962 1963as perfectly in line with the Consort materials, a precursor and illuminated kindred contrast that may even be...(oh God, how do I say this and not betray my not-so-secret beatification of Ralph Towner & Co.???)...better!Not only is this 2-CD set packed in with material, 32 cuts worth, but the remastering of the original Columbia release of the White House gig, played for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy is augmented by 14 tracks nowhere else released. More, the band's crammed with talent: Warren Bernhardt, Dick Whitsell, Harold Jones, Cecil McBee, Jeremy Steig, Freddie Waits, Gene Bertoncini, etc., and of course Winter's prime period sax work. If you think he was hot stuff later, you haven't checked this gig out yet. The range of material stretches from trad to blues to sass (catchThem Nasty Hurtin' Blues) to audacious (Mystery Blues) to bop and everything in between. Winter is outstanding throughout and spotlessly backed, whether the boss is waxing rambunctious, or balladic. If you check Webster's Third Int'l. for the word tight, I'm pretty sure you're going to find a snapshot of the Winter Sextet.For over two hours, the band wails with guts, spine, integrity, outstanding chops, and humor (those trumpet side commentaries in the otherwise slinky title cutCount Me Inare hilarious, something Raymond Scott would've whipped up). Those familiar only with Winter's later work will be shocked to hear how far beyond hip the young reeds giant was, holding nothing back. And the arrangements? Yow! To kill for... So grab this overwhelming document while you can. Its on Winter's Living Music label... and the market is so damn fickle nowadays that God only knows what will happen. One small grace will occur, though:Count Me Inwill definitely be on my FAME Best of 2012 list. It's that damn good.-- Mark S. Tucker --Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange 11-8-12The Paul Winter Sextet -Count Me InLiving Music 2012 An incredibly short but influential run finds this 50th anniversary anthology celebrating The Paul Winter Sextet's two year run including their famed concert at the White House. Length of time and competency if not influence do not always go hand in and hand and while this revolutionary ensemble was conceived as sort of a little big band, Paul Winter has always taken the musical path looking for the zen-like balance one could obtain between the improvised and composed. Shortly after President Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas the group disbanded but despite their frustration over the tragic events that rocked this country the individual members each went on to distinguish themselves with different bands and solo artists both in and outside the jazz idiom.Pianist Warren Bernhardt's career included playing with such luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, Clark Terry and Steely Dan. Drummer Harold Jones currently gigs with Tony Bennett. Bassist Cecil McBee has enjoyed critical acclaim after stints with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Chet Baker.  This anthology will hit the streets on Nov. 6, 2012 and include 14 never before released tracks fromCount Me Inas well as their 1962 concert at the Kennedy White House. The Sextet's genesis happened during Winter's time at Northwestern University. After walking away with the 1961 Intercollegiate Jazz Festival title, the band was signed to Columbia by the legendary John Hammond who also signed such acts as Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Ray Vaughn. In 1962 at the recommendation of festival judges Dizzy Gillespie and Hammond, The Paul Winter Sextet set out on a six month tour of 23 countries of Latin America which spawned the invitation from then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to play at the White House. Ironically President Kennedy happened to be a Stan Getz fan so the jazz lineage to the Oval House is certainly nothing new. Towards the end of their time together the band did undergo some personnel changes in an attempt to keep going and those changes are reflected on this historic recording. While fans are certainly familiar with the Paul Winter Consort,Count Me Inclearly demonstrates the early genius of Paul Winter and offers a unique perspective on the origin of one of the finest alto players since Charlie Parker.Personnel: Paul Winter: alto sax & soprano sax; Dick Whitsell: trumpet; Les Rout: baritone saxophone; Warren Bernhardt: piano; Richard Evans: bass; Harold Jones: drums; Jay Cameron: baritone saxophone; Chuck Israels: bass; Ben Riley: drums; Cecil McBee: bass (12, 14,15); Freddie Waits: drums (12, 14,15); Jeremy Steig: flute; Gene Bertoncini: guitar (13).Tracks: Disc One - A Bun Dance; Papa Zimbi; Casa Camara; Them Nasty Hurtin' Blues; Voce e Eu; Insensatez; Mystery Blues; Chega de Saudade; Routeousness, Count Me In. The 1962 White House Concert - Bells and Horns, Saudade da Bahia, Casa Camara, Pony Express, Maria Ninguem, Toccata, Count Me In. Disc Two - Cupbearers, Ally, The Sheriff, With Malice Toward None, All Members, Marilia, Suite Port au Prince, New York 19, Quem Quizer, The Thumper, Count Me In, Repeat, Lass From The Low Countrie, Down By The Greenwood Side, We Shall Overcome.-- Brent Black --@CriticalJazz posted 10-28-12