    State of Mind: Oregon plays Kuumbwa on Monday night.
Oregon's Odyssey  The jazz quartet's 40-year journey through the
musical universe ends up at home.  By Andrew Gilbert  Long
before world music became an established marketing niche, Oregon
was creating a potent synthesis of far-flung musical sources.
One of the first improvising ensembles to wholeheartedly embrace
a global aesthetic, the group evolved out of the Paul Winter
Consort in 1970 as a quartet featuring reed master Paul
McCandless, guitarist Ralph Towner, bassist Glen Moore and
percussionist Colin Wolcott. Over nearly four decades, through
tragedy and technological shifts, Oregon has created a complete
musical universe steeped in the jazz tradition but largely
eschewing blues feeling and swing in favor of various non-
Western musical forms. Oregon plays two shows on Monday at
Kuumbwa.  "I think the emphasis now is for people to demonstrate
the diversity of the music that they're employing, and to show
the reference very clearly," says McCandles