Oregon - Live At Yoshi's

Oregon, the band which has been existing for more than three decades, is well known for crossing borders of musical genres, combining stylistic means of jazz with those of classical and world music from the very beginning, playing world jazz, and being open to both Indian music and folk with Celtic elements.

With their new album 'Live at Yoshi’s' 'Oregon has discovered jamming. Many tracks on the new album sound groovy and jazzy. And some even funky.' (Johannes Völz in JAZZ THING/June-August 2002)

- but it still is Oregon!

The songs were recorded in August 2001 - 'at Yoshi's' in Oakland, California, one of the best known jazz clubs in the US, in collaboration with the successful producer Steve Rodby.

While 'Northwest Passage' (INT 3191 2, 1997) was a studio production which offered all possibilities to finetune the recording, 'Oregon in Moscow – with the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra' (INT 3303 2, 2000) was produced in a situation similar to a live recording, though without the possibility of improvisation. 'Live at Yoshi’s', on the other hand, is free from the firm structures of the previous CDs, giving the interpreters much space for solos. The album war recorded by the founder members Ralph Towner (guitar, piano, synthesizer), Paul McCandless (oboe, cor anglais, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Glen Moore (bass) and the excellent percussionist Mark Walker who has shown his skills on the former Intuition CDs 'Northwest Passage' and the Grammy-nominated double album 'Oregon in Moscow', has proven to be an ideal partner for the trio and has meanwhile become a permanent member of the band.

On 'Live at Yoshi’s' Oregon gives a representative selection of the wide range of old and new songs of the band. For example, the quartet has revived the Jim Pepper song 'Witchi-Tai-To', an Oregon concert hit of the 1970s, and has picked up the early 'Raven's Wood' again, a beat-music composition with Latin leanings, and presents the new song 'Crocodile Romancing' in which reggae and funk mix with unmistakable Oregon sound.

Here you can find sound samples and purchase tracks or the complete album as mp3.