the project

Long before Paul Horn became known as one of the founders of new age music, he was admired for his innovative work as leader of his own jazz quintet. With The Jazz Years, Black Sun has recreated the excitement of those influential sessions from 1961 to 1963 in which the alto sax/flute player developed a highly personal style and a group character unlike any other.

The Jazz Years features seven tracks from The Sound of Paul Horn. Benny's Buns, an original named for the owner of the Renaissance Club, is an unconventional blues composition that sustains its intensely urgent feeling through Emil Richards' expert vibes riffs. Mirage for Miles, dedicated to Miles Davis, provides a showcase for the band's melodic invention. Horn and company also prove to be masterful interpreters of standards on tunes like My Funny Valentine, and Without a Song. The Jazz Years also includes five selections from Profile of a Jazz Musician and four from Impresssions from Cleopatra, an album based on Alex North's exotic score for the movie.

As critic Leonard Feather writes: "Though his jazz years were a prelude to many other musical and spiritual adventures, the products of that period have clearly withstood the inroads of time. With a repertoire of originals and well–chosen standards, the Horn Quintet left an impression that is reinforced by this long-overdue reissue."

the artist

After attaining a degree in classical music from the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory, Paul Horn played jazz with Chico Hamilton before touring and recording with his own groups. During the 60s, Horn received two Grammys for Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts. He also served as a member of the NBC Hollywood Staff Orchestra; played on numerous soundtracks; and recorded extensively.

In the mid 60s, discouraged with the Hollywood lifestyle, Horn flew to India where he studied transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The experience changed his life and his approach to music. In 1968, he recorded Inside the Taj Mahal (11062), which is considered to be the cornerstone of new age music. He has since toured and recorded all over the world, and completed his autobiography, Inside Paul Horn.