Paul Winter has long embraced the musical traditions of many of the world's civilizations. The Grammy® winning soprano saxophonist interweaves widely diverse instruments with extraordinary voices from what he refers to as "the greater symphony of the Earth" - wolves, whales, eagles, and several dozen other species of "wilderness musicians". Motivated for the past thirty years by his vision of a musical/ecological community, Winter has followed a steady course toward his unique "earth music", a vital celebration of the creatures and communities of the globe. Jazz Times called him "One of contemporary music's most singular voices.", adding "Thank goodness for people like Paul Winter, an artist who makes us think as we feel".

Pennsylvania-born Winter settled on saxophone as his preferred instrument by the age of nine. While majoring in English composition at Northwestern University, he formed the Paul Winter Sextet. Upon winning the 1961Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, the group was immediately signed to Columbia Records. Soon after, they became the first student jazz group to be sent abroad by the U.S. State Department. The mingling of cultures and exchange of musical and social ideas Winter experienced on that tour had a profound effect on him personally and musically.

Infused with the rhythms and melodies of so many of the world's cultures, Winter formed The Paul Winter Consort in 1967 in order to explore a richer texture of sound and a broader realm of music. Winter explains, "I borrowed the name 'Consort' from the ensembles of Shakespeare's time, the house bands of the Elizabethan theatre, which adventurously blended woodwinds, strings, and percussion - the same families of instruments I wanted to combine in our 'contemporary' consort".

The following year, Winter found himself mesmerized by the poignant songs of humpback whales. Around the same time, he developed a fascination with wolves. The haunting communal celebration of a howling pack and the beautifully complex songs of the whales planted seeds of ideas that blossomed on a number of Winter's later albums. Lush timbral structure and distinctive acoustic instrumentation give the Consort's earth music a uniquely alluring quality. Recorded sounds from the natural world are interwoven with classical and ethnic traditions, the whole infused with the spontaneous spirit of jazz.

Winter formed Living Music Records to create a forum open to the exploration of this musical/ecological fusion. The label, which has won three Grammy® awards and received nine other nominations, typically records its releases in Winter's woodland surrounded barn-studio. Occasionally, however, the musicians venture into outdoor acoustic spaces, such as the Grand Canyon, for sessions imbued with the essence of the natural world. The Consort also frequently records below the vaults of New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the world's largest Gothic cathedral where they are artists-in-residence. St. John's is also home to the Consort's famed Winter and Summer Solstice celebrations and their Earth Mass performed each Feast of St. Francis. "People get a sense of community - a sense of the whole wide community of life, which is one of the best things we could do with our music", says Winter.

Winter's concert travels and recording expeditions have taken him to thirty-seven countries and to wilderness areas on six continents, where he has traveled on rafts, mules, dog sleds, horses, kayaks, sailboats, steamers, tugboats, and Land Rovers. He has performed over 2000 concerts in major concert halls of the Americas, Europe, and Asia and in major cathedrals such as Washington's National Cathedral and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. He has appeared at the White House, the Grand Canyon, the Negev Desert in Israel, and the Palace of the Crown Prince of Japan.

SHOWcase remarked "His lifestyle, aesthetic vision, and firm individuality recall other famous New Englanders like Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Ives". In recognition of his musical contributions to the environment, Winter has received countless accolades, among them a Global 500 Award form the United Nations, the Award of Excellence from the United Nations Environment Program, the Joseph Wood Krutch Medal for service to animals from the United States Humane Society, and an honorary doctorate from Juniata College, Pennsylvania