Oregon was an American jazz and world music group, formed in 1970 by Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, Glen Moore, and Collin Walcott.

History

Towner and Moore had been friends and occasional collaborators since meeting in 1960 as students at the University of Oregon. By 1969, both were working musicians living in New York; while collaborating with folksinger Tim Hardin they were introduced to world music pioneer Paul Winter's "Consort" ensemble, particularly member Collin Walcott, with whom Towner began improvising as an informal duo. By 1970 Towner and Moore had joined the Winter Consort and met fellow member McCandless; the four began exploring improvisation on their own, while their contributions continued to be seminal in redefining the Winter Consort "sound" in compositions like Towner's "Icarus". with jazz, folk, space music and avant-garde elements.

Ralph Towner passed away on January 18, 2026 in Rome, Italy at the age of 85.

Discography

on Vanguard

  • 1970 - Our First Record (first released 1980)
  • 1972 - Music of Another Present Era
  • 1973 - Distant Hills
  • 1974 - Winter Light
  • 1975 - In Concert
  • 1976 - Together - with drummer Elvin Jones
  • 1977 - Friends
  • 1978 - Violin - with violinist Zbigniew Seifert
  • 1979 - Moon and Mind
  • 1981 - The Essential Oregon

on Elektra

  • 1978 - Out of the Woods
  • 1979 - Roots in the Sky
  • 1980 - In Performance

on ECM

  • 1973 - Trios / Solos - Credited to "Ralph Towner with Glen Moore"
  • 1983 - Oregon
  • 1984 - Crossing
  • 1987 - Ecotopia

on CBS /Portrait

  • 1989 - 45th Parallel

on Intuition

  • 1991 - Always, Never and Forever
  • 1993 - Troika

on Chesky

  • 1995 - Beyond Words

on Intuition

  • 1997 - Northwest Passage
  • 1998 - Music for a Midsummer Night's Dream (The Oregon Trio)
  • 2000 - In Moscow - with the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra
  • 2002 - Live at Yoshi's

on CAM Jazz

  • 2005 - Prime
  • 2005 - The Glide (1 track, new version on iTunes)
  • 2007 - 1000 Kilometers
  • 2010 - In Stride
  • 2012 - Family Tree
  • 2017 - Lantern

on Moosicus Records, MIG

  • 2021 - '1974' (recorded live on March 14th 1974 at the Radio Bremen Sendesaal/Studio F, in Bremen/Germany by Radio Bremen)

on Jazzhaus, SWR

  • 2024 - 'Treffpunkt Jazz • Ludwigsburg 1990' (recorded live on November 27th 1990 in Ludwigsburg (Scala), Germany)

References

  • Official Oregon website
  • Oregon discography
  • Oregon setlists and recordings
  • Interview with Oregon on NPR (2001)
  • Mark Walker official site