Paul Winter

Winter first came to public prominence in 1961 as the winner of a collegiate jazz festival held at Notre Dame University; one of that event's judges, John Hammond, subsequently signed the group to a Columbia recording contract. In 1962, the band was sent on a State Department tour of Latin America. That venture planted the first seeds of change in Winter's concept. In 1967, he abandoned traditional jazz format in favor of a lineup that featured non-Western instruments. The Paul Winter Consort, as the band was renamed, became one of the earliest exponents of world music, combin...