Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Past is Past
When ECM founder Manfred Eicher launched his jazz label in the late Sixties (with Mal Waldron's Free At Last) he had to look around for American talent because most of it was signed to major or independent labels.
He was canny because he alighted on great musicians who were sometimes band members in groups lead by Miles Davis (Keith Jarrett the most notable example), were drifting between labels (Marion Brown) or those who clearly had something else to give if allowed more freedom (Paul Bley).
Bennie Maupin – who plays saxophone, flute and bass clarinet – qualifies on most of those fronts: he'd played in Herbie Hancock's fusion bands (Headhunters) and with Miles Davis in the Bitches Brew sessions.
In 1974 he was ready to be a leader in his own right when Eicher approached him and he had his debut as leader on ECM with The Jewel in the Lotus.
It is an ambitious album which pushed elements of Davis' modal experiments into areas with Buddhist influences (the opener Ensenada) and towards soulful avant-garde experimentalism.
And he had the tools to do the job: Herbie Hancock on pianos, Billy Hart and Freddie Watts on drums, bassist Buster Williams, guest trumpeter Charles Sullivan in for two pieces and percussionist Bill Summers.
Maupin, Hancock, Williams and Hart had all worked together in various situations and were of a similar mindset when it came to improvising in the studio on the original material, which was as understated as it was open to extravagant interpretation (the dramatic Mappo with Sullivan).
Given the spiritual quest that players like Maupin, Hancock and Williams were on at the time it's hardly surprising the album reflects that in the allusions to Tibetan chanting (Excursion) and the yearning quality of Past is Past.
There are short pieces woven through but the genius of the collective is evident in the eight minute Ensenada (which also alludes to West African music) and the majestic 10 minute journey of the title track.
The Jewel in the Lotus is an often overlooked album, but if John and Alice Coltrane have been among your recent listening then this gem – now reissued on vinyl – should be your next stop.
Incidentally Bennie Maupin is still with us and will be 85 in a fortnight.
.
You can hear this album at Spotify here but vinyl is nice too.
post a comment