Northwest Passage
Oregon are a world/jazz-fusion group that have been performing together since 1970, when Paul McCandless, Ralph Towner, and Colin Wolcott left the Paul Winter Consort to form a band with bassist Glen Moore. Ralph Towner's 12-string guitar has always blended well with McCandless's stately oboe and English horn as the band combines Asian and Native American influences with jazzy improvisation. Oregon's percussionist Colin Wolcott was killed in an auto accident in the early '80s. Both Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Mark Walker fill the void left by Wolcott with sensitivity and skill while the three original members display a very special brand of musical maturity. Glen Moore's basslines underscore the gentle compositions of Towner and McCandless and Oregon's group improvisation is particularly intuitive.--Mitch Myers