Earthbeat (Paul Winter album)

Earthbeat
Earthbeat
Studio album by Paul Winter
Released	October 12, 1987
Recorded	1987 ; Moscow & New York City
Genre	New-age, folk jazz, ethno-jazz, world fusion
Length	37:15
Label	Living Music
Producer	Paul Winter, Oscar Castro-Neves, Ted Levin
Paul Winter chronology

Earthbeat is a landmark album by saxophonist Paul Winter. Recorded and released in 1987, the album was a joint project between the Paul Winter Consort and the Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble from Russia, then the Soviet Union.

Background

The Paul Winter Consort first met the Pokrovsky Ensemble during a tour of the Soviet Union in September 1986 when they performed together during a concert at Moscow University. Immediately inspired by their performance, the two groups communicated, through interpreters, the idea of making more music together. After obtaining permission from the Russian music label Melodiya, the Consort began their collaboration with the Ensemble.^[3]

The album was recorded in both Moscow and New York City. The two groups combined their musical styles to create an entirely new sound. The result was a melding of Russian circlesongs and folk melodies with Brazilian and African drums and harmonies, along with the western jazz harmonies implemented by the Winter Consort.

Release and reception

The album is considered monumental, as it was the first album of original music created by Americans and Russians together. It received good reviews and was praised by other musicians, notably Pete Seeger and Dave Brubeck. The album was nominated for a Grammy in 1988.^[4]

Uses in other media

Russ Landau, a former bassist for the Paul Winter Consort, was asked to write music for the American TV show Survivor. Landau used portions of the first track on this album, "Kurski Funk", to create what became the theme song for the show. Paul Winter then sued the creators of Survivor, accusing them of using his music without his permission. According to Winter, Landau had asked to use music from Earthbeat, and Winter had only granted him permission to use recordings that did not make the final cut, and did not appear on the album.

Track listing

"Kurski Funk" (Trad. Kursk, Halley, Castro-Neves, Winter)
"The Horse Walked In The Grass" (Trad. Don, Halley, Freisen, Winter)
"Kyrie" (Halley)
"Steambath" (Trad. Pskov, Halley, Freisen, Winter)
"Song For The World" (Trad. Kursk, Halley)
"Down In Belgorod" (Trad. Belgorod, Castro-Neves, Freisen, Winter)
"The Lake" (Halley)
"Epic Song" (Trad. Caucasus, Castro-Neves, Winter)
"Green Dreams" (Trad. Belgorod, Halley, Freisen, Winter)
"Garden Of The Earth" (Trad. Russia, Halley, Winter)

Personnel

Paul Winter Consort

Paul Winter- soprano sax
Eugene Friesen- cello
Paul Halley- keyboards
Oscar Castro-Neves- guitar
Russ Landau- bass
Ted Moore- percussion
Glen Velez- percussion
Neil Clark- percussion

Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble

Dmitri Pokrovsky
Maria Nefadova
Alexander Donilov
Elena Sidorenko
Sergei Zhirkov
Tamara Smyslova
Arthur Partosh
Anna Knoukhova
Andrei Kotov
Nina Savistskaya
Dimitri Fokin
Vladimir Teplov
Irina Ponomaryova
Sergei Grigoriev

References

^ "Earthbeat | Paul Winter". Archived from the original on 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
^ "Earthbeat by Paul Winter Consort with the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers | Paul Winter".
^ "Earthbeat by Paul Winter Consort with the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers | Paul Winter".
^ "Living Music's EARTHBEAT featuring The Paul Winter Consort and the Dimitri Pokrovsky Singers". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2011-01-03.

[1] "Earthbeat | Paul Winter". Archived from the original on 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2015-09-11.

[2] "Earthbeat by Paul Winter Consort with the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers | Paul Winter".

[3] "Earthbeat by Paul Winter Consort with the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers | Paul Winter".

[4] "Living Music's EARTHBEAT featuring The Paul Winter Consort and the Dimitri Pokrovsky Singers". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2011-01-03.

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