Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

HORN, Paul

(b 17 March 1930, NYC; d 29 June 2014, Vancouver BC) Reeds. His mother was a pianist for Irving Berlin; he attended Oberlin and the Manhattan School of Music; he played in the Sauter/Finegan band '56, with Chico Hamilton quintet '56-8, joined NBC staff '59, and began leading own quartets/quintets. He made a TV documentary The Story Of A Jazz Musician, appeared on other TV shows; accompanied Tony Bennett '65-6; became particularly well-known for flute work and as an early student of the modal style of composition of George Russell and Miles Davis.

He went to India '67-8, where he studied transcendental meditation and became a teacher of it; moving to Canada '70 he scored films for the National Film Board of Canada, Island Eden for the government of British Columbia etc. Toured schools as clinician, published flute solos Paul Horn/Inside. There were albums for Dot (and Imperial) '57-8; Calliope, World Pacific, and HiFi Jazz '58-60; three on Columbia '61-3; Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts '64 with quintet, chorus, orchestra conducted by composer Lalo Schifrin, and three other LPs for RCA including a bossa nova set with Oliver Nelson; then his best-known work, Inside '68 on Epic, recorded in the Taj Mahal in India.

A single 'Green Jelly Beans' and 'Dancing Children' '69 appeared on Epic. An album on Ovation '70 and Gassy Jack's Place '73 on Canadian label Pacific North were followed by another Epic LP and Special Edition on Mushroom (Canadian; also on Island), both '74; then Paul Horn + Nexus and Altura do Sol ('Altititude Of The Sun'), both '75 on Epic, both with Egberto Gismonti, later on Black Sun CDs); Paul Horn In India '76 on Blue Note with Indian musicians; Dream Machine '78 on Mushroom, made in Hollywood with Schifrin, leader/concert master Israel Baker, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Jim Keltner on drums, nine others; quartet LP Live At Palm Beach Casino, Cannes 1980 on Rare Bid (probably the same album as Paul Horn's Riviera Concert on Who's Who in Jazz CD); Traveler '87 on Global Pacific had a boys' chorus, Christopher Hedge (co-composer, multi-instrumentalist). China with Mingyue Liang on traditional instruments was on Golden Flute, reissued '87 on Kukuck with different tracks; recorded '76-86.

Further albums, many listed in New Age catalogues: Africa '94 on Celestial Harmonies; reissues and more albums on Kukuck: Inside The Taj Mahal II '90, Nomad: Selected Pieces 1976-1988; Inside The Great Pyramid (psalms and meditations edited from a two-LP set), Inside The Cathedral (improvised solos recorded in Lithuania '83) etc.