Vinyl Vault: Paul Horn

He was born in New York, but he got his professional start in music in Los Angeles, including a stint in Chico Hamilton’s band in the late 1950s. He also played with Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Tony Bennett during that time. Tuesday night, we’ll hear a track recorded in 1958 with Horn as the leader of a bebop ensemble.

In 1968, he traveled to the Taj Mahal in India and talked his way into setting up his recording equipment in the main hall of the shrine, recording his flute and capturing the remarkable echo in the chamber. His improvised flute playing was sometimes accompanied by the chants of one of the guards stationed to protect the shrine. “Inside the Taj Mahal” was released in 1968 and was an international hit. We’ll hear a track from this recording.

Nine years later, he accomplished a similar feat by recording in the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. Once again working with the local authorities, he set up recording equipment within the largest chamber inside the pyramid and recorded using the echo within the stone chamber. “Inside the Great Pyramid” (Mushroom Records, 1977). We’ll hear a track from this recording as well.

He returned to ensemble work and recorded many albums through the earliest part of the 21st Century. Much of his output took on a world music flavor. To conclude the Vinyl Vault, we’ll hear a track from his 1987 album “Traveler,” as an example of his later recordings.

Join Geoff Anderson for a musical examination of Paul Horn on the next Vinyl Vault, on Tuesday, October 7, at 8:30 p.m. on KUVO JAZZ.