Collin Walcott ranked among the earliest sitarists to explore jazz. Within Oregon his adaptability, engagement with varied traditions, and command of sitar, tabla, and further percussion instruments positioned him as an indispensable member. Initial training covered two years of violin and included snare drum and tympani during school. He pursued percussion studies at Indiana University while receiving sitar instruction from Ravi Shankar and tabla lessons from Alla Rakha. Engagements with Tony Scott occupied the years 1967–1969, after which he worked with Tim Hardin before joining the Paul Winter Consort in 1970. In 1971 he departed that ensemble together with Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, and Glen Moore to establish Oregon. Alongside recording and touring with the distinctive folk-jazz ensemble, he participated in a 1972 session with Miles Davis and belonged to Codona, the ECM trio completed by Don Cherry and Nana Vasconcelos. Collin Walcott died in a traffic accident during an Oregon tour in East Germany. He directed three ECM sessions and remains audible on the Codona discs and Oregon’s early recordings.
