Bennie Maupin was one of the first musicians to record for ECM, playing on a Marion Brown record in August 1970, when the label was just a few months old. Born in Detroit in 1940, Maupin was encouraged in his early musical... more » development by Yusef Lateef, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. Jack DeJohnette introduced him to Miles Davis, and Bennie's bass clarinet was to become one of the signature sounds of the epochal Bitches Brew. The early 70s, however, were spent mostly working with Herbie Hancock's ensembles and The Jewel In The Lotus is essentially a pooling of players from the Hancock circle, including Herbie himself in his only ECM appearance. The Jewel In The Lotus was Bennie Maupin's first leader record. The album was recorded in March 1974, and could be described as a sequence of pulsing tone-poems, full of glowing, compound sound-colors and subtle interactions - a jazz-and-Buddhism-inspired floating chamber music that was way ahead of its time. The recording shows Maupin very much concerned with the totality of the musical conception, with the form as a whole. He is an exceptional improviser, thinking compositionally and directing group music in the moment.« less
Bennie Maupin was one of the first musicians to record for ECM, playing on a Marion Brown record in August 1970, when the label was just a few months old. Born in Detroit in 1940, Maupin was encouraged in his early musical development by Yusef Lateef, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. Jack DeJohnette introduced him to Miles Davis, and Bennie's bass clarinet was to become one of the signature sounds of the epochal Bitches Brew. The early 70s, however, were spent mostly working with Herbie Hancock's ensembles and The Jewel In The Lotus is essentially a pooling of players from the Hancock circle, including Herbie himself in his only ECM appearance. The Jewel In The Lotus was Bennie Maupin's first leader record. The album was recorded in March 1974, and could be described as a sequence of pulsing tone-poems, full of glowing, compound sound-colors and subtle interactions - a jazz-and-Buddhism-inspired floating chamber music that was way ahead of its time. The recording shows Maupin very much concerned with the totality of the musical conception, with the form as a whole. He is an exceptional improviser, thinking compositionally and directing group music in the moment.
CD Reviews
Avant-garde in 1974 and still avant-garde!
Dr. Debra Jan Bibel | Oakland, CA USA | 11/12/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The early 1970s was an era of commercial and artistic exploration of spirit and consciousness, opened up by the mid 60s drug-influenced cultural revolution. Time and space became more fluid and indefinite; the meditative aspects of Asian, i.e., traditional Japanese and Hindustani, musics entered jazz, too. Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (1969) had helped lead the way, and Pharoah Sanders in 1980 would actually include koto and sitar in his Journey to the One. And, of course, there was the recent font of free jazz. The group Oregon, beginning in 1970, would mesh jazz and world music into high art. Nothing, however, could prepare the listener in 1974 for this recording from artists as Herbie Hancock, Buster Williams, and Billy Hart. Structures and silences, form and emptiness, pulses and flows: it is like sensing something in peripheral vision but when turning to focus, the impression disappears. Always interesting, often surprising, sometimes frustrating, the CD is out-there and yet in-here. In fact, it reminds me of Japanese court music, gagaku. Such experimentation would pass and the coherent features would enter the realm of classical and world music and persist in the sound of ECM jazz. In short, this recording is more for historical, intellectual, and spiritual study than for simple pleasure, which is why, I suppose, it remains timeless, pointing toward a deeper significance, as the Buddhist jewel in the lotus."
Jazzman
James K. Stewart | Louisville, Ky USA | 10/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have waited longer than I can remember for this ECM masterpiece from
the early 70's to be issued on cd, and now I can thank Manfred Eicher at
ECM for finally making it available. Like Julian Priester's "Love, Love",
also recently released on cd from ECM, it's a brilliant work of art for
open minds. Gorgeous, deep meditations from the reedman from Herbie
Hancock's Mwandishi and Headhunter bands along with Miles Davis' "Bitches
Brew". "Jewel in the Lotus" has been on so many request lists for cd
issue for so many years, it will make many happy this has at long last
finally happened. The sound and clarity on the new cd is breathtakingly
beautiful. Herbie Hancock, Buster Williams, and Billy Hart from the
brilliant Mwandishi band are all here, along with Charles Sullivan on
trumpet, Bill Summers on percussion, and Frederick Watts on drums and
marimba. It's an unforgettable, mind-bending collage of gorgeous sounds
and images. An ECM classic from 1974 that sounds better than ever. I will
be framing on the wall my vinyl cover of this that I still have and love
to look at. Thank you Manfred for hearing our pleas to finally get this
out on cd. Several months ago, I contacted Bennie about my admiration
for "Jewel" and why this masterpiece hasn't yet appeared on cd. He warmly
responded that he was in talks with ECM about getting it out and optimis-
tic it could happen soon with support from many fans of this recording
who have written ECM about it. And now it has happened! My cd player
has never sounded so good. A billion stars for "Jewel in the Lotus".
"
A Peaceful Song
Eric Kennedy | East coast | 02/28/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Beautiful meditative music. This expressive tone poem is a delight to hear. If you're looking for bebop or the fusion/jazz/rock, this is not your record. If you like the music that brings a sense of relaxation to your home and heart, this is it."
Brilliant, beautiful
G B | Connecticut | 01/03/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jewel in the Lotus is part of a little universe of experimental recordings made by members/alumni of Herbie Hancock's early 70s sextet - the group that recorded Mwandishi, Crossings and Sextant. Despite some obvious links in terms of personnel and music, Jewel in the Lotus definitely has a different feel than those three albums. And it's hard to believe that around the same time as this album was recorded, Maupin, Hancock and percussionist Bill Summers were recording the Headhunters and Thrust albums.
This album has an introverted, meditative feel that in some sense anticipates new age music (check out the beautiful opener "Ensenada"), though stylistically it clearly lies in the experimental jazz-rock of In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Mwandishi and the early Weather Report albums. That's despite only sparing usage of electric instruments on this almost entirely acoustic album. There isn't much emphasis on individual solos, though Hancock's avant-garde piano solo on "Mappo" is among the best in his career. The two ballads that close the album - "Song for Tracie Dixon Summers" and "Past Is Past", showcase Bennie's sensitivity on soprano saxophone and bass clarinet respectively.
One of my favorite acquisitions from the past few years, and among the best I've heard from ECM.
Overall a classic, worth listening"
Organic
Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 07/07/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Recorded back in 1974 but making its first appearance on CD in 2008 is this vintage recording from ECM that features the impressive lineup of Bennie Maupin on reeds, voice, and glockenspiel; Herbie Hancock on piano and electric piano; Buster Williams on bass; Freddie Waits on drums and marimba; Billy Hart on drums; Bill Summers on drums and percussion, and Charles Sullivan on trumpet. Although the appearance of three percussionists might make it seems as though this would be some sort of Latin/funk rave-up, a glance at the title offers a more revealing clue. This is music that is inwardly directed, expressive of reflection rather than reflective of expression. Still, with three percussionists, Herbie Hancock, and a trumpet, you are reminded that jewels, even when encased in flowers, are hard and brilliant.
Buster Williams on bass really drives this music, creating not so much a foundation as a core around which the other musicians add layers of sound. The end result sounds, to use an overused term, organic. The whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts. Bennie Maupin put together a wonderful recording back in 1974, making The Jewel in the Lotus quite a welcome re-release from ECM."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1