His father (who was also an oboe and English horn player) taught him clarinet, his mother piano,[4] and he attended the Manhattan School of Music.

He won the Down Beat Critics' Poll for Best Established Combo, the Deutscher Schallplatten Preis for his album Ectopia, and the Arbeitskreis Jazz im Bundesverband der Phonographishen Wirtschaft Gold Record Award.

[16] Said Jazz Journal, "Paul McCandless delivered terrific, beautifully modulated solos on both oboe and soprano.

"[17] The Washington Post called McCandless a "stellar player" who plays "sparkling harmonic cascades.

"[18] With Oregon With Pierluigi Balducci With Suzanne Ciani With Alex De Grassi With Béla Fleck With David Friesen With Tony Furtado With Steven Halpern With Mark Isham With Peter Kater With Nguyen Le With Michael Manring With Jaco Pastorius With Fred Simon With Paul Winter With others