BENNIE MAUPIN

1. "It Remains to Be Seen" (8:01) opens sounding like soundtrack music to a sci-fi film, when the full band finally joins in during the second half of the first minute it's with a melodic funk.Throughout the rest of the song the music is surprisingly uniform and simple though melodic: until the fifth minute when the piano arrives it feels very much like a BOB JAMES song. Luckily, Patrice Rushen's piano solo with its backing electric piano gets the blood boiling a bit-- especially when the horn sections accents come in. Then the song mellows for a bit with some smooth choral vocals before going out with some engaging whole group participation rhythmic clapping to the funk. (13.25/15) 2. "Eternal Flame" (4:34) opens with the dreamy sonic landscape of a mellow Ronnie Laws or Tom Scott song. Bennie takes the lead from the start, soloing on the lower registers of his soprano sax while the lush keyboard-rich music beneath seems to carry us gently downstream. Nice key/chord changes here and there giving the song a kind of cinematic feel. (8.875/10)

3. "Water Torture" (4:52) another gently funky BOB JAMES-like songcraft that provides the vehicle for several lead instruments to contribute their smooth, melodic solos over the top: Bennie's tenor sax, Patrice Rushen on Fender Rhodes, all with gorgeous horn (and "strings") accents and banks on the sides, in the pockets between the solos. Beautifully composed and "orchestrated" though this is a far cry from either the rough, raw space music of the Mwandishi sessions (Jewel in the Lotus) or the power funk of Thrust or Spaceball. (9/10)

4. "You Know the Deal" (7:03) this one starts out a little more funky and a little more smoothly orchestrated--like something inspired by Eumir Deodato's work in 1973--but things go robotic BOB JAMES-like with a very blandly repeated rhythm track beneath Bennie's sax soloing. Also, the overall mix of this instrumental palette is rather foggy: nothing is as clear and defined as one might like; everything feels kind of washed into the same spacestream. At the same time, there is something really cool about the way everything is blended: as if the individuals have sacrificed their identity for the sake of oneness/coalescence. (13.25/15)

5. "Lament" (1:52) acoustic piano opens this before being joined by Bennie's bass clarinet for this tender, introspective piece. (4.5/5)

6. "Quasar" (5:53) another fairly long (45-seconds) cinematic intro eventually reveals a pleasant bass-launched and rich and smooth synth-dominated sonic field over which trumpeter Eddie Henderson is given first shot at leading. His play is quite dynamic: with lots of short and staccato notes and bursts; I'd almost call it "old school" but I have to admit that it's very welcome after an album in which everything seems so washed and homogenized. Luckily, the basic rhythmic and melodic foundation of this one is fairly hypnotic. (9/10)

Total Time 32:15

Though I certainly appreciate the skills it took to realize such tightly-perfected soundscapes and compositions, I'm saddened for the restraint and restrictions imposed upon this cast of incredibly talented musicians (many of whom had been collaborating with Bennie since Bitches Brew and/or Mwandishi): I loved so much the era in which multiple musicians were given the green light to move freely--even experimentally--and at all times!--behind and within the sonic landscapes as opposed to this new style where the composer, band leader, and/or producer is seemingly on a quest for perfect chart rendering.

B+/four stars; an excellent addition of the new smoother Jazz-Rock Fusion for the J-R Fuse enthusiast to enjoy as pleasant background music.

1. "Ensenada" (8:05) fast-paced static two-note bass line and wind chime-like percussion instruments open this song until the reset pause at the 95-second mark signals the arrival of flutes and piano. A song that reminds me of some of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin's more sedate spiritual-oriented songs as well as some of Chick Corea and Gary Burton's duets. At 4:35 there is another reset pause which is then followed by a key change when the instrumentalists resume their wind-chime nature imitation. I really love this song! (14.5/15)

2. "Mappo" (8:25) Bennie's flute leads this one as trumpet, bowed double bass, delicate drum play (from both drummers) and additional percussion inputs support. In the third minute the band starts to establish a kind of tense, dour, even cinematically-frightening motif but then backs off. This is so much like the future music of avant gard pioneers UNIVERS ZERO and PRESENT! But then Latin hand drums enter totally wiping away the cinematic tension, redirecting the tension into some free-jazz kind of play. Even Herbie's discordant piano play in the fifth and sixth minutes (or Buster Williams and Bill Summers' wild play) seem only to add to the tense 20th Century classical music feeling of this. This feels like a very wise and mature composition! Wow! (19/20)

3. "Excursion" (4:47) starts out sounding as if we're in some high mountain Tibetan monastery with the horns, reverberating gongs, glockenspiel, tuned percussion, prayer-like vocalisations, piccolo, bassoon, and, later, discordant and free-for-all double bass riffs, piano hits, and snare and drum fills. The cacophonous sound just builds and thickens the further the song runs until the end when recorder and single-voice vocal chant are left to end the song. Wow! What a journey this man is taking us on! (9/10)

4. "Past + Present = Future" (1:45) piano, distant snare and shaken percussives, long, bowed double bass notes, and multiple flute and reed instruments present this lovely little interlude. (4.75/5)

5. "The Jewel In The Lotus" (9:57) spacey electric piano (with fast-panning reverb) with shaker percussives open this while reed instruments, double bass sprays, delicate cymbal play, and marimba gradually set the stage for Bennie's soprano sax and other reed instruments to slowly, subtly set a melody. I am so impressed with the design of this music! And the discipline it takes to perform it. (And I know from second-hand sources that Bennie is a very exacting, very demanding band leader.) Once Bennie is in front, the music pretty well established and solidified, it kind of loses its appeal to me as it becomes less about mystery and melody and more about continuing the floatability. The individual instrumental choices and contributions are interesting yet they're often so soft and subtle that they do more to deflect my attention off into some tangential place of dreamy sensuality. I hate to detract from the ability to perform such a wonderful (and wondrous) feat, but I kind of want to stay engaged with the song. (17.66667/20)

6. "Winds Of Change" (1:25) multiple reed instruments performing together, in attempted unison. (4.5/5)

7. "Song For Tracie Dixon Summers" (5:14) a lot of space--some times quite empty--around which Bennie and company add small whorls and twists of movement--until the third minute when Bennie's soprano sax leads Herbie, Buster, Billy, and the percussionists into something slightly more definitive and organized. There's just so much space! I usually love spacious music like this but this one is almost too reliant on the long decays of instrumental sound as to not represent music but rather act as a reminder of what the world would be like without music. Interesting! (8.75/10)

8. "Past Is Past" (3:52) Bennie's plaintive, languid soprano sax in duet with Herbie's full piano prowess--at least for the first 90-seconds, then triangle, shaker, timpani, and other hand percussion instruments (and background harmonizing flutes) join the flow (which is pretty much a drawn out three-chord flow). The drummers get to join in--as only accenting percussionists--in the final minute. (8.875/10)

Total time: 43:37

A surprisingly transportive, spiritual experience comes out of listening to this album each time I do so. This is, in my opinion, no small feat. In fact, I would argue that it might take some artists a lifetime to achieve such an effect through their art.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of quite remarkably mature song compositions performed by the remnants of the Mwandishi lineup months after the last Mwandishi session wrapped up.

Top three include the opener "It Remains To Be Seen" with that very interesting start and then we get this sax melody that is repeated that I like. Bass and drums only before 5 minutes then guitar and piano join in before the piano starts to lead. Sax is back and this is catchy stuff. Some vocals late and I like them. "You Know The Deal" has some nice upfront bass with trumpet, sax and more. Love the sound of Henderson's trumpet here. Guitar before 1 1/2 minutes replacing the horns then it steps aside after 2 minutes as we get bass, drums and piano standing out then the horns return. "Quasar" is my final top three and the closer. Drums and a dramatic intro then lots of atmosphere before the bass and electric piano come out of that, sax and drums too. Man I love the bass lines here, so good. Synths will sweep through at times but the bass is my focus here. Trumpet kicks in and then later we get a calm just before 4 minutes, yet the bass continues. Somebody stop him!

A solid 4 stars for this piece of art.

I've been getting back into the Mwandishi albums the past couple of months, and what an absolute joy it has been. These records are among the most wondrous and bewitching you'll ever come across inside the chops-dominated sphere of jazz-rock. For those of you who don't know, Mwandishi was the Swahili name Herbie assigned to himself, back when everybody was soul searching - and especially the black communities were finding a lot of power and inspiration in their African heritage, although these jazz infected guys probably would have stood out like a couple of soar thumbs standing in the middle of a dirt brown Kenyan savannah...

Anyways, all of the other guys involved changed their names as well - so Buster Williams became Mchezaji, Jabali/Billy Hart, Mganga/Eddie Henderson, Mwile/Bennie Maupin, Pepo Mtoto/Julian Priester, and Ndugu/Leon Chancler. -And finally we're off to the promised land of orange deserts, exotic jungles and growling big cats.

Aside from the cultural stand, which in all honesty was happening on a nation-wide scale much credited to a guy like Cassius Clay, the actual music of these Mwandishi releases, whether they are Hancock's, Henderson's or Maupin's, are among the finest inside the world of experimental fusion. Sure there is a direct lineage going back to what Miles was trying to do with Bitches Brew and so forth, but once you step inside the miraculous world of Mwandishi, you realise just how original the music was - and still is.

Whereas both Sextant and Crossings rely much on electronic fizzings and bubbles, Jewel in the Lotus is far more "traditional" in its instrumental approach - leaning on an incredibly acoustic and earthy vibe. Now don't let that fool you, because even if the electronics are all but gone, this album's expressive behaviour is still far beyond your every day melodic Brand X album. It's not that it is completely bereft of any melodies, but the focus remains an experimental one - even if it mostly feels arranged and well-plotted. Opposite opposites right here - and loads of 'em... Outside of maybe a few mad piano stints done by Herbie himself, especially on the second cut Mappo that feels like a man possessed trying to climb the Himalayas with a grand piano on his back, - the overall mood of Jewel in the Lotus is one of chill-out peaceful serenity. It puts you into a deep urban trance, that wafts overhead the black and sticky tarmac of the city and gives you time and patience to light a cigarette whilst overlooking the majestic sight of far-away rains hitting the shiny roof of an old factory hall.

Rather bizarrely I count this outing among the most experimental and avant guarde of the Mwandishi releases, yet at the same time it fits the bill of being the most delicate, frail and non-abrasive of the lot. How is that even possible? I guess it has something to do with the way these individual tracks revolve around Bennie Maupin's bass clarinet. He plays that thing like an ancient mantraing jazz guru, who's tired and stoic like a mountain - slowly slowly emanating foggy, cleansing, soothing breaths of sound. He never really flips out - leaving that entirely up to the guys around him, although you can tell how much of a group thing this really is, as none of them puts on their big kahuna hat and goes off like a rabid Charlie Parker on steroids. What covers most of Jewel in the Lotus in this intangible experimental coating is actually the percussive side of things. The nervous, vibrating and slightly edgy feel of the marimbas for once has always spellbound me. They flavour the music in an expressive otherworldly finish that gets me fantasizing about the deep black jungle, pyramids and tribal ceremonies of long lost societies from the heart of human civilisation.

This album is perhaps my all-time fave fusion record. It has everything going for it: that fluttering unhinged jungle vibe, highly soothing surfaces of sound, ethereal landscapes and lastly what makes all of this work wonders - makes the whole project leap straight up in the air, is of course an astonishing cast. If you dig the early fusion groove of Miles Davis, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock then this album should preferably be sneaking in your bedroom window as we speak - ready to get you entranced and bemused whilst you dream of Africa and rainbow coloured vipers.

"Ensenda" opens with bass as we get some atmosphere with marimba, piano and bells. Everything is so intricate as sounds come and go. "Mappo" opens with trumpet and intricate sounds. Some flute after a minute as sounds come and go until after 1 1/2 minutes when it settles in.They quickly go back to the intricate sounds. Piano and bass standout after 3 1/2 minutes and the piano sounds amazing as it gets pretty intense. It settles back down before 8 minutes. "Excursion" has this atmosphere that hovers and it's dark as vocal melodies come in. It turns insane as piano, trumpet, drums and more blast the soundscape. "Past + Present = Future" is a short piece with percussion, piano, flute and atmosphere.

"The Jewel In The Lotus" has these experimental sounds as the horns come in. It's brief as we get a dark calm with sparse piano, bass and cymbals. Sax before 2 minutes joins in. Bass clarinet follows. Sax and bass then lead but the piano and drums are prominant as well. Cool sounds end it. "Winds Of Change" is a short piece where sounds rise and fall. "Song For Tracie Dixon Summers" opens with bass then horns as drums join in around 2 minutes, piano too. "Past Is Past" has these mournful sax melodies with piano. Drums come in later in this melancholic closer.

A unique album played by some of the best on the planet.

I don't know the answer but the music says it all. We start with the harmless soft-porn easy listening funk of 'It Remains to be seen'. Skip. 'Eternal Flame' is a bit more loungey and atmospheric. It sets a mood for greater things to happen. And the anticipation rises, because the third track is an adaptation of 'Water Torture' from Hancock's Mwandishi era. The musicians here are largely the same (bar Hancock) and since this track counts amongst the best fusion has to offer, I couldn't resist the curiosity to hear it. Unfortunately, this torture has become the type of funky muzak that is only fir for TV commercials, listening to it will just make you doze off. All magic and tension from the original is professionally destroyed.

The second side of the album follows the same pattern. A funk/disco track followed by a quiet atmospheric one and another funk/dub treatment of a Mwandishi classic 'Quasar'.

While not a bad album if you like the smooth silky jazz fusion of the later 70s (at least it's not cheesy!), the contrast with the creative excitement of the early 70s era is simply too much to take for me, and the result is at least less then half as enjoyable. Hence 2.5 stars.

'The Jewel in The Lotus' is a very experimental album, avant-garde almost, but not of the hard-core kind. The music is free-jazz based and largely eschews traditional melodic playing but it is still very rich harmonically, leaving an impression that it was composed as much as improvised. The tight grooves, which drove Hancock's albums, are absent. Instead the drums, just like all other instruments, are used to create an atmospheric texture that ebbs and flows as graciously as the waves, very fluent, continuous music with vague abstract patterns. It's hard to grasp sometimes, and nearly impossible to analyze, but at the same time it's one of those albums that totally drags you into its gentle dreamy mood. It's brooding, mesmerizing, addictive. Even during the wilder atonal sections.

I've only recently got to know this album thanks to a much appreciated suggestion from a hard-core fan. I can see why now, this work quickly established itself as one of my favorite titles of my most beloved jazz period, that of the early 70s, where a deeply psychedelic and intuitive approach embraced some of the energy and electricity of rock. A masterpiece. Much recommend to fans of the early Weather Report albums and Davis' Silent Way.

And this also means that Moonscapes is even a better justification for inclusion on PA than STttR. The way he plays the sax and bass clarinet on this album (mainly Anua) reminds me somewhat of Santana's Borboletta (Here and Now !) so more in a free style sort of way. Just playing about, almost noodling but still making sense if you know what I mean. So indeed more fusion than plain jazz one might say.

On the other hand, on Nightwatch there's still pure funk to be enjoyed so I'm not saying it's a black and white thing with the funk/fusion switch but overall I feel it's the case. Bottom line is that Maupin also here proves his ultimate class and can without doubt be classified as one of jazz' wind greats. It's not a coincidence he played with Davis and Hancock. In the end this album is not as special for me as the predecessor but it's still a very good album and this means another four stars, slightly rounded up (3,9).

And Bennie Maupin is a master of creating a great atmosphere through his music. It's the kind of music that was to be heard in typical 70's and 80's TV-series as Starsky and Hutch, Hill Steet Blues and Taxi. Boy, those good old days ... I even wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Maupin composed some of the music in those series. Mouth watering stuff really. And what I also like is that even though all songs are great, there is still variation in sound, style and atmosphere.

Funky Jazz is maybe not the best example of jazz prog but still I feel Bennie Maupin is justifiably here on PA, maybe in a sort of borderline way but, well at least I don't mind. His music is elaborate and complex enough to defend his presence. I love it to the bone and award this album with at least four stars. Music can hardly get much better as far as I'm concerned.