Tibet

Unintentional father of New Age music, horn player, and flautist, Paul Horn began his musical ascent in the 1950s as part of Chico Hamilton's jazz quintet, and as a sideman for legendary musicians such as Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis. Then a journey to India in the mid-'60s changed everything. Horn studied with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, became one the first American transcendental meditation instructors, and began work on an ill-fated film about the maharishi. Out of these experiences, however, was born the now classic New Age recording, Inside the Taj Mahal. Other recordings in holy places followed, bringing us to his 2000 offering, Tibet: Journey to the Roof of the World. Largely recorded over a three-week pilgrimage by Horn and a small crew, including an exiled Buddhist monk on his secret return home, the resulting musical score also serves as the soundtrack for the PBS documentary, Journey Inside Tibet. These 48 minutes of sound reflect a rich culture, as well as the highly personal experience of the group's travel to this spiritual mecca. Bookended by the sounds of airliners and airports, the music, incorporating some studio augmentation and "real time" sounds such as chant and street noise, is by turns playful, meditative, reflective, and worshipful. A particularly poignant companion to Yungchen Lhamo's intensely beautiful Tibet, Tibet, Horn's Tibet is a splendid offering. --Paige La Grone