McCOY TYNER — Tender Moments (1968-1987) Serie Blue Note CD Treasury – CP32-9545 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

On this excellent set, McCoy Tyner had the opportunity for the first time to head a larger group. His nonet is an all-star aggregation comprised of trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Julian Priester, altoist James Spaulding, Bennie Maupin on tenor, Bob Northern on French horn, Howard Johnson on tuba, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Joe Chambers in addition to the pianist/leader. Tyner debuted six of his originals, and although none became standards (perhaps the best known are "The High Priest" and "All My Yesterdays"), the music is quite colorful and advanced for the period. Well worth investigating. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Mode To John    5:40
 McCoy Tyner
2    Man From Tanganyika    6:52
 McCoy Tyner
3    The High Priest    6:05
 McCoy Tyner
4    Utopia    7:35
 McCoy Tyner
5    All My Yesterday    6:03
 McCoy Tyner
6    Lee Plus Three    5:41
 McCoy Tyner
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Flute – James Spaulding
Bass – Herbie Lewis
Drums – Joe Chambers
French Horn – Bob Northern
Piano – McCoy Tyner
Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder
Tenor Saxophone – Bennie Maupin
Trombone – Julian Priester
Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Tuba – Howard Johnson

MIKE NOCK / BENNIE MAUPIN / CECIL McBEE / EDDIE MARSHALL - Almanac (1967-1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This quartet set was an unusual release for Paul Bley's Improvising Artists label in that the music was not comprised of free improvisations and the session was actually recorded independently and then bought by the company. The 1967 session was an early effort by pianist Mike Nock, Bennie Maupin (who doubles on tenor and flute and often sounds here a bit like Joe Henderson), bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Eddie Marshall. Together they perform seven of Nock's post bop originals and there is enough adventure in the music to hold on to one's interest. This set has been reissued on CD through Black Saint/Soul Note. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Specific Gravity One 6:27
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
2     Symbiosis 5:29
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
3     Emotivations 4:14
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
4     Almanac 6:18
Bennie Maupin
5     Hallucinogen 3:45
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
6     Double Split 3:49
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
7     J.C. Dudley 2:55
Bennie Maupin / Mike Nock
Credits :
Bass – Cecil McBee
Drums – Eddie Marshall
Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Bennie Maupin
Piano, Producer – Mike Nock

BENNIE MAUPIN — The Jewel in the Lotus (1974-2019) Touchstones Series | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Jazz -funk fans must have been taken aback when multi-instrumentalist and composer Bennie Maupin's Jewel in the Lotus was released by Manfred Eicher's ECM imprint in 1974. For starters, it sounded nothing like Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters recording, which had been released the year before to massive sales and of which Maupin had been such an integral part. Head Hunters has remained one of the most reliable sales entries in Columbia's jazz catalog into the 21st century. By contrast, Jewel in the Lotus sounded like an avant-garde jazz record, but it stood outside that hard-line camp, too, because of its open and purposeful melodies that favored composition and structured improvising over free blowing. Jazz after 1970 began to move in so many directions simultaneously it must have felt like it was tearing itself apart rather than giving birth to so many new and exciting musics. Considered carefully, however, Jewel in the Lotus was the perfect realization of the skills acquired by Maupin from the mid-'60s on, when he had played in bands led by Marion Brown, McCoy Tyner, and Pharoah Sanders. He'd even recorded an album under his own name in 1967 entitled Almanac. Maupin was first heard by the masses, however, when he played bass clarinet on the landmark Bitches Brew session by Miles Davis, and as a member of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi and Sextant groups. He was the lone holdover when Hancock formed the Headhunters, who blasted their way onto FM radio and into the ears of fans who also dug Earth, Wind & Fire and P-Funk.
Maupin's band for this set contained close friends and musical allies encountered over the years. For starters, fellow Headhunter Bill Summers and Hancock himself are on this date, with drummer Billy Hart and versatile electric and acoustic bassist Buster Williams, who were both members of the earlier Hancock group. The other drummer on the set (there was one in the right and one in the left channel), the criminally under-recorded Frederick Waits, was a former skin man for Motown and John Lee Hooker who Maupin knew from his hometown in Detroit. Charles Sullivan, who plays trumpet on two cuts, was someone Maupin encountered in his travels in New York and jammed with. Jewel in the Lotus is not exactly a "lost" jazz classic. ECM kept it in print for many years on vinyl, but 2007 saw its first official CD release. That said, it has been traded widely on the Internet and vinyl copies of any edition command major dollars in record stores and in online auctions. There is good reason for this: it is a classic of 1970s spiritual jazz, and as much as any recording on Strata East or Black Jazz, Maupin's ECM offering is a wonder of arrangement and composition with gorgeous ensemble play, long yet sparse passages, space, and genuine strangeness. Maupin plays all of his reeds and flute in addition to glockenspiel here; Summers' percussion effects include a water-filled garbage can. The two drummers swirling around in different channels don't ever play the same thing, but counter and complement one another. And Hancock plays some of the most truly Spartan and lyrically modal piano in his career here.
From the six seconds of silence that introduce the percussive beginnings of "Ensenada," with Williams' acoustic bass on a pulse line, Waits' marimba inside a tight scale, Summers' bells, and Hancock's ghostly piano, you know you are on a journey. It doesn't matter whether that music is jazz, classical, or avant-garde. It's a journey into sound and silence. When Maupin on flute fronts the rest of the group as they enter with long-held notes and Hart begins flitting around the top with sticks playing the rims of his tom-toms, the magic is already transpiring. The music is somewhere in the twilight, perhaps better yet in the first emerging pink of a new day, where everything seems transparent because it is partially hidden from view. The ringing ostinato Hancock introduces about halfway through in the middle register is rhythmic, not melodic. The melody is so restrained it only engages one note at a time, held almost interminably but seductively. The beginning of "Mappo," by contrast, is almost startling: as both drummers move through and around the front line, Williams bows his bass at the lower end of its register, and Hancock begins to dramatically play his bottom register keys, Maupin's saxophone enters -- masculine, definitive, and pronounced -- before it gives way to space and his flute. Rhythms and themes shift and more notes are introduced, but they are still skeletally structured. Themes give way to the return of others, and everything becomes circular. The entire track -- regardless of the frenetic but taut percussion and the intense bowing of Williams -- remains in the realm of absolute crystalline beauty.
The elemental concerns of journey and transformation are paramount on the first half of the recording, all the way through the brief ostinato tune "Past + Present = Future." The primordial moment has been revisited; one listens in the moment and heads toward the sum of the two parts, which becomes almost uncomfortably clear with the introduction of electric piano sounds (think of the score from Tarkovsky's Solaris), slow deep modal lines from Williams, and Maupin's muscular tenor -- but these two give way to brave new sound worlds in the title track. The fact that the vibe remains on the border between light and dark (and nowhere more so than with the bass clarinet lines and flutes in "Winds of Change") doesn't make it a difficult record to listen to. Quite the opposite. Maupin's harmonic explorations may be unfamiliar, even downright strange at times, but they are inviting. The beckon gently; they never assault. Edges are rounded and seductive. "Song for Tracie Dixon Summers" is one of the most haunting and beautiful modal ballads ever written in the modernist jazz literature. The interplay between Williams, Summers, Maupin's saxophone, and Hancock is symbiotic. Sometimes these moments are so dramatic that what the listener hears is the sound of a new world opening up, so that by the time "Past Is Past" closes the set, with its contrapuntal piano and open-key melody, the listener has been taken completely out of the day-to-day, out of the moment and into a new one, where time is formless, free-floating, a stream. Coming back into everyday life with its business can be a bit jarring.
The true worth of Jewel in the Lotus is that perhaps no other bandleader at the time could bring together players from such different backgrounds and relationships to his own musical development and make them interact with one another with material that is scored so closely and whose dynamics and tensions are so pronounced and steady. Maupin was so utterly accomplished as a composer as well as a soloist by this time it comes as a shock that he hadn't been making records regularly -- and even more so that he has only recorded very sporadically as a leader since (only a handful of recordings bear his name on top but they are all as fine as they are different from one another). Jewel in the Lotus is a true jazz classic because only jazz was big enough in the early '70s to hold music like this, with all its seeming paradoxes, and recognize it as its own. This album sounds as timeless and adventurous in the present as the day it was released. Amen.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Ensenada 8:15
Bennie Maupin
2     Mappo 8:30
Bennie Maupin
Trumpet – Charles Sullivan
3     Excursion 4:52
Bennie Maupin
Trumpet – Charles Sullivan
4     Past+Present=Future 1:52
Bennie Maupin
5     The Jewel in the Lotus 10:02
Bennie Maupin
6     Winds of Change 1:30
Bennie Maupin
7     Song for Tracie Dixon Summers 5:19
Bennie Maupin
8     Past Is Past 3:57
Bennie Maupin
Credits :
Bass – Buster Williams
Design – Sascha Kleis
Drums [Left Channel], Marimba [Left Channel] – Frederick Waits
Drums [Right Channel] – Billy Hart
Percussion, Percussion [Water-filled Garbage Can] – Bill Summers
Piano, Electric Piano – Herbie Hancock
Producer, Remastered By – Manfred Eicher
Reeds, Voice, Glockenspiel, Music By – Bennie Maupin

THE BENNIE MAUPIN ENSEMBLE — Penumbra (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Here is an interesting and not paradoxical combination: Bennie Maupin on Cryptogramophone. Maupin hasn't been heard from as a leader since 1998 on his fine, funky, Driving While Black. That doesn't mean he hasn't been busy; he's played on records by Chick Corea, the Headhunters, George Cables, Victor Bailey, David Arnay, Mike Clark, and others. He was also part of DJ and producer Carl Craig's revolutionary Detroit Experiment. Penumbra is all his, however, and aside from Jewel in the Lotus, it may be the finest outing in his catalog as a leader. Maupin plays his usual array of instruments -- tenor, soprano, flute, bass clarinet, and piano. He is joined by the excellent bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz (also known as "Oles"), drummer Michael Stephans, and Darryl "Munyungo" Jackson on percussion. Rhythm is the key here, as all of these 14 compositions are rhythmically propelled. Maupin's compositional frame has been informed by all of his teachers, most notably John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Yusef Lateef. Modal motifs can be heard in most pieces, and Maupin's playing around and through the rhythm makes for infectious and quietly dramatic listening. Restraint is a key element of all the tracks on this set. Tunes don't "swing" per se, but they are excellent examples of the deep interplay of the ensemble. The contrapuntal dialogue between Maupin and "Oles" on "Neophilia," "Message to Prez," and "The 12th Day," on which Maupin plays bass clarinet and tenor, respectively, is almost symbiotic. The skittish soprano workout on "See the Positive" also involves a fine contrapuntal exchange between the two, with a funky groove underlying the entire proceeding. The angular "Level Three" begins in abstraction but ever transforms itself into melodic composition and improvisational fire all within three minutes. There are two solo pieces on the set, "Blinkers," for tenor, and "One for Dolphy," for bass clarinet, that are beautifully understated and refined. The duet "Mirror Image" for flute and bowed bass is a soft, lyrical wonder. A true standout here is "Walter Bishop Jr.," where the open drone mode dictates an intense Eastern-tinged melodic workout from Maupin's tenor. As it picks up steam, the ensemble gels, but space and air are given free rein. Everywhere the tension builds, albeit slowly, but when the piece reaches its bluesy end -- reminiscent of Lateef's work on Eastern Sounds -- it whispers to a close letting the air out of the bag gently, surely, and melodically. This is a magical, labyrinthine outing for Maupin. His band is top-flight intuitive, practicing a kind of restraint that never forsakes lyric for mere energy and dynamic. This takes not only discipline, but taste, and Maupin and band are positively beatific in their subtlety.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Neophilia 4:36
Bennie Maupin
2     Walter Bishop Jr. 6:36
Bennie Maupin
3     Level Three 3:17
Bennie Maupin
4     Blinkers 1:24
Bennie Maupin
5     Penumbra 7:06
Bennie Maupin
6     Mirror Image 1:17
Bennie Maupin
7     Message to Prez 6:07
Bennie Maupin
8     Tapping Things 5:40
Bennie Maupin
9     Vapors 4:45
Bennie Maupin
10     One for Eric Dolphy 2:38
Bennie Maupin
11     See the Positive 2:53
Bennie Maupin
12     Trope on a Rope 3:51
Bennie Maupin
13     The 12th Day 2:58
Bennie Maupin
14     Equal Justice 7:15
Bennie Maupin
Credits :
Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz
Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Flute, Piano – Bennie Maupin
Drums – Michael Stephans
Percussion – Daryl Munyungo Jackson

THE BENNIE MAUPIN QUARTET - Early Reflections (2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bennie Maupin's Cryptogramophone label follow-up CD to Penumbra both parallels and provides a departure from that excellent effort. What is similar is the softer tone Maupin is displaying in his far post-Headhunters days, refined by experience and cured though wisdom. The music Maupin plays on this beautiful effort is even more subdued, as he collaborates with an ensemble of relatively unknown musicians from Poland. If you've been hearing recent efforts from Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko and his ECM recordings with the teenage pianist Marcin Wasilewski and his trio, you hear stark similarities. But further, the recently reissued Maupin epic Jewel in the Lotus, which was also on ECM, is quite different than this ECM sounding project. Old may in fact be new again in some respects, but in this case, new is really new. Maupin offers so much appealing music within the undercurrent, starting with the delicate but paced "Black Ice" and the waltzing title track with Maupin on soprano sax. Separate flute and piano lines are woven into a more somber waltz "Tears," or the sparse, spacy, long "Spirits of the Tatras" with dynamics patiently rendered up and down with lots of piano from Michal Tokaj, who rivals the crystalline musings of Wasilewski on the entire album. Of course, the piece de resistance is Maupin's hearty, throaty, bass clarinet work, a sound all anticipate in live or studio performances. The repeated lines during "Escondido" and brash, unpredictable sounds on the outstanding "Prophet's Motifs" urged on by the precise clockwork drumming of Lukasz Zyta makes musical common sense. It is the tenor sax of Maupin that is perhaps the most understated of all his instruments during the duet with Tokaj on "Ours Again," and the carefully constructed, pensive "Inner Sky." There's also a recapitulation of "Jewel in the Lotus" which exudes more energy and audio excitement, especially on Maupin's second soprano solo. One has to always wonder if Maupin has a magnum opus within him, and this comes close, for it is certainly his most introspective, reflective, and inner spirit-directed effort in a long and varied career playing progressive jazz. by Michael G. Nastos  
Tracklist :
1     Within Reach 2:36
Michal Baranski / Bennie Maupin / Michal Tokaj / Lukasz Zyta
2     Escondido 7:46
Bennie Maupin
3     Inside the Shadows 2:23
Michal Baranski / Bennie Maupin / Michal Tokaj / Lukasz Zyta
4     ATMA 8:56
Bennie Maupin
5     Ours Again 3:51
Bennie Maupin
6     The Jewel in the Lotus 10:12
Bennie Maupin
7     Black Ice 3:07
Michal Baranski / Bennie Maupin / Michal Tokaj / Lukasz Zyta
8     Tears 7:48
Michal Tokaj
9     Not Later Than Now 2:38
Michal Baranski / Bennie Maupin / Michal Tokaj / Lukasz Zyta
10     Early Reflections 5:46
Bennie Maupin
11     Inner Sky 7:13
Bennie Maupin
12     Prophet's Motifs 4:23
Bennie Maupin
13     Spirits of the Tatras 9:04
Bennie Maupin
Credits :
Bass – Michal Baranski
Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Flute – Bennie Maupin
Drums, Percussion – Lukasz Zyta
Piano – Michal Tokaj
Voice – Hania Chowaniec-Rybka (faixas: 4, 13)

MILES DAVIS – Bitches Brew (1970-2013) RM | 2xCD Blu-spec | Serie Legacy Recordings | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Thought by many to be among the most revolutionary albums in jazz history, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew solidified the genre known as jazz-rock fusion. The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time, some of whom were already established while others would become high-profile players later, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Airto, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Bennie Maupin, Larry Young, and Lenny White among them. Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around keyboard, bass, or guitar vamps, Bitches Brew is actually a recording that producer Teo Macero assembled from various jams and takes by razor blade, splice to splice, section to section. "Pharaoh's Dance" opens the set with its slippery trumpet lines, McLaughlin's snaky guitar figures skirting the edge of the rhythm section and Don Alias' conga slipping through the middle. Corea and Zawinul's keyboards create a haunted, riffing modal groove, echoed and accented by the basses of Harvey Brooks and Holland. The title cut was originally composed as a five-part suite, though only three were used. Here the keyboards punch through the mix and big chords ring up distorted harmonics for Davis to solo rhythmically over, outside the mode. McLaughlin's comping creates a vamp, and the bass and drums carry the rest. It's a small taste of the deep voodoo funk to appear on Davis' later records. Side three opens with McLaughlin and Davis trading fours and eights over a lockstep hypnotic vamp on "Spanish Key." Zawinul's lyric sensibility provides a near chorus for Corea to flit around in; the congas and drummers juxtapose themselves against the basslines. It nearly segues into the brief "John McLaughlin," featuring an organ playing modes below arpeggiated blues guitar runs. The end of Bitches Brew, signified by the stellar "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," reflects the influence of Jimi Hendrix with its chunky, slipped chords and Davis playing a ghostly melody through the funkiness of the rhythm section. It seemingly dances, becoming increasingly more chaotic until it nearly disintegrates before shimmering into a loose foggy nadir. The disc closes with "Sanctuary," completely redone here as a moody electric ballad that was reworked for this band while keeping enough of its integrity to be recognizable. Bitches Brew is so forward-thinking that it retains its freshness and mystery in the 21st century. Thom Jurek  

Tracklist 1:

1. Pharoah's Dance (Zawinul) 20:07

2. Bitches Brew (Davis) 27:00.

Tracklist 2:

1. Spanish Key (Davis) 17:30

2. John McLaughlin (Davis) 4:23

3. Miles runs the voodoo down (Davis) 14:03

4. Sanctuary (Shorter) 10:54

Credits:

Bass – Dave Holland

Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin

Design [Cover] – John Berg

Drums – Charles Alias, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White

Electric Bass [Fender] – Harvey Brooks

Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin

Electric Piano – Chick Corea,

Joe Zawinul (tracks: 1-1 to 2-1, 2-4),

Larry Young (tracks: 1-1, 2-1 to 2-3)

Percussion – Jim Riley

Soprano Saxophone – Wayne Shorter

Trumpet – Miles Davis

Artwork [Cover Art] – Mati Klarwein

MILES DAVIS - Big Fun (1974-2000) 2CD / RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Despite the presence of classic tracks like Joe Zawinul's "Great Expectations," Big Fun feels like the compendium of sources it is. These tracks are all outtakes from other sessions, most notably Bitches Brew, On the Corner, and others. The other element is that many of these tracks appeared in different versions elsewhere. These were second takes, or the unedited takes before producer Teo Macero and Miles were able to edit them, cut and paste their parts into other things, or whatever. That is not to say the album should be dismissed. Despite the numerous lineups and uneven flow of the tracks, there does remain some outstanding playing and composing here. Most notably is "Great Expectations" from 1969, which opens the album. Here the lineup is Miles, Steve Grossman, Bennie Maupin, John McLaughlin, Khalil Balakrishna, and Bihari Sharma on sitar and tambura, Herbie, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Harvey Brooks, Billy Cobham, and Airto. Creating a series of vamps from drones and a small melodic figure, there is very little in the way of groove or melodic development until the middle section, where a series of modalities enters the composition. The second album in the set features "Go Ahead John," an outtake from Jack Johnson's sessions that is 28 minutes in length. It's a riff-based groover, with McLaughlin and his wah-wah pedal setting the pace with Steve Grossman on soprano. The basic motif is the blues, floating around E and Bb flat, but there are modulations introduced by Miles into Db flat that add a kinkier dimension into the proceedings as well. Dave Holland is the bass player, and DeJohnette is the drummer. There is no piano. What's most interesting about this date is how it prefigures what would become "Right Off" from Jack Johnson. It doesn't have the same fire, nor does it manage to sustain itself for the duration, but there are some truly wonderful sections in the piece. This is for Miles fans only, especially those of his electric period, because it fills in the puzzle. The reissue added four bonus tracks to the original double-LP set, but other than "Recollections" by Zawinul, they shed little light on the mystique and development of the intensely creative music being developed in 1969 and 1970. Others should be directed to Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson, or Live Evil as starting points. by Thom Jurek 
Tracklist 1:
1 Great Expectations 27:23
Bass – Ron Carter
Bass [Fender] – Harvey Brooks
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Drums – Billy Cobham
Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin
Electric Piano – Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Airto Moreira
Sitar [Electric], Tambura – Bihari Sharma, Khalil Balakrishna
Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman
2 Ife 21:34
Bass – Michael Henderson
Clarinet, Flute – Bennie Maupin
Drums – Al Foster, Billy Hart
Percussion [African] – James "Mtume" Forman*
Piano – Harold I. Williams*, Lonnie Smith
Soprano Saxophone – Carlos Garnett
Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Sonny Fortune
Tabla – Badal Roy
3 Recollections 18:55
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Cuica, Percussion – Airto Moreira
Drums – Jack DeJohnette
Electric Bass – Dave Holland
Electric Piano [Left] – Joe Zawinul
Electric Piano [Right] – Chick Corea
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Soprano Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
Triangle – Billy Cobham
4 Trevere 5:55
Bass – Dave Holland
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Cuica, Berimbau – Airto Moreira
Drums – Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette
Electric Bass – Harvey Brooks
Electric Piano – Chick Corea
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Organ, Celesta – Larry Young
Sitar [Electric] – Khalil Balakrishna
Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman
Tambura – Bihari Sharma
Tracklist 2:
1 Go Ahead John 28:27
Bass – Dave Holland
Drums – Jack DeJohnette
Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin
Saxophone – Steve Grossman
2 Lonely Fire 21:21
Bass – Dave Holland
Bass [Fender] – Harvey Brooks
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Drums – Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette
Electric Piano – Chick Corea
Electric Piano, Organ [Farfisa] – Joe Zawinul
Instruments [Indian] – Airto Moreira, Khalil Balakrishna
Percussion – Airto Moreira
Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
3 The Little Blue Frog 9:10
Bass – Dave Holland
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Cuica, Berimbau – Airto Moreira
Drums – Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette
Electric Bass – Harvey Brooks
Electric Piano – Chick Corea
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Organ, Celesta – Larry Young
Sitar [Electric] – Khalil Balakrishna
Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman
Tambura – Bihari Sharma
4 Yaphet 9:39
Bass – Ron Carter
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Cuica, Berimbau – Airto Moreira
Drums, Triangle – Billy Cobham
Electric Bass – Harvey Brooks
Electric Piano [Left] – Herbie Hancock
Electric Piano [Right] – Chick Corea
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Sitar [Electric] – Khalil Balakrishna
Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman
Tambura, Tabla – Bihari Sharma
 

HERBIE HANCOCK - Crossings (1972-2014) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With the frenzied knocking of what sounds like a clock shop gone berserk, Crossings takes the Herbie Hancock Sextet even further into the electric avant-garde, creating its own idiom. Now, however, the sextet has become a septet with the addition of Dr. Patrick Gleeson on Moog synthesizer, whose electronic decorations, pitchless and not, give the band an even spacier edge. Again, there are only three tracks -- the centerpiece being Hancock's multi-faceted, open-structured suite in five parts called "Sleeping Giant." Nearly 25 minutes long yet amazingly cohesive, "Sleeping Giant" gathers a lot of its strength from a series of funky grooves -- the most potent of which explodes at the tail-end of Part Two -- and Hancock's on-edge Fender Rhodes electric piano solos anticipate his funk adventures later in the '70s. Bennie Maupin's "Quasar" pushes the session into extraterrestrial territory, dominated by Gleeson's wild Moog effects and trumpeter Eddie Henderson's patented fluttering air trumpet. Even stranger is Maupin's "Water Torture," which saunters along freely with splashes of color from Hancock's spooky Mellotron and fuzz-wah-pedaled Fender Rhodes piano, Gleeson's electronics, and a quintet of voices. Still a challenging sonic experience, this music (which can be heard on Warners' Mwandishi two-CD set) has yet to find its audience, though the electronica-minded youth ought to find it dazzling. by Richard S. Ginell  

Tracklist:

1. Sleeping Giant (24:48)

2. Quasar (7:25)

3. Water Torture (13:54)

Total Time 46:21

Credits:

Herbie Hancock - Piano, Electric Piano, Mellotron, Percussion

Eddie Henderson - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Percussion

Billy Hart - Drums, Percussion

Julian Priester - Bass, Tenor and Alto Trombone, Percussion

Buster Williams - Electric Bass, Bass, Percussion

Bennie Maupin - Soprano Saxophone, Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Piccolo, Percussion

Patrick Gleeson - Moog Synthesizer

Victor Pontoja - Congas

Voices - Candy Love, Sandra Stevens, Della Horne, Victoria Domagalski, Scott Breach

HERBIE HANCOCK - Sextant (1973-1998) APE (image+.cue), lossless

When Herbie Hancock left Warner Bros. in 1971 after releasing three musically sound but critically and commercially underappreciated albums -- The Crossing, Mwandishi, and Fat Albert's Groove -- he was struggling. At odds with a jazz establishment that longed for his return to his Blue Note sound and a fierce consciousness struggle with free music and the full-on embrace of electricity since his tenure with Miles Davis, Hancock was clearly looking for a voice. Before diving into the commercial waters that would become Headhunters in 1973, Hancock and his tough group (including Billy Hart, Julian Priester, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Bennie Maupin, and Buster Williams) cut this gem for their new label, Columbia. Like its Warner predecessors, the album features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk. The three long tracks are exploratory investigations into the nature of how mode and interval can be boiled down into a minimal stew and then extrapolated upon for soloing and "riffing." In fact, in many cases, the interval becomes the riff, as is evidenced by "Rain Dance." The piece that revealed the true funk direction, however, was "Hidden Shadows," with its choppy basslines and heavy percussion -- aided by the inclusion of Dr. Patrick Gleeson and Buck Clarke. Dave Rubinson's production brought Hancock's piano more into line with the rhythm section, allowing for a unified front in the more abstract sections of these tunes. The true masterpiece on the album, though, is "Hornets," an eclectic, electric ride through both the dark modal ambience of Miles' In a Silent Way and post-Coltrane harmonic aesthetics. The groove is in place, but it gets turned inside out by Priester and Maupin on more than one occasion and Hancock just bleats with the synth in sections. Over 19 minutes in length, it can be brutally intense, but is more often than not stunningly beautiful. It provides a glimpse into the music that became Headhunters, but doesn't fully explain it, making this disc, like its Warner predecessors, true and welcome mysteries in Hancock's long career. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
1 Rain Dance 9:16
2 Hidden Shadows 10:11
3 Hornets 19:35
Credits:
Bass Trombone, Tenor Trombone, Trombone [Alto Trombone], Cowbell – Pepo
Composed By – Herbie Hancock
Congas, Bongos – Buck Clarke
Drums – Jabali
Effects [Random Resonator] – Fundi
Electric Bass [Fender Electric With Wah-wah And Fuzz], Acoustic Bass – Mchezaji
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Clavinet [Hohner D-6 With Fender Fuzz-wah And Echoplex], Mellotron, Piano [Steinway], Handclaps – Mwandishi
Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Piccolo Flute, Afoxé [Afuche], Kazoo [Hum-a-zoo] – Mwile
Synthesizer [Arp 2600] – Dr. Patrick Gleeson
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Mganga

HERBIE HANCOCK - Head Hunters (1973-2008) SACD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock's career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz. It had all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly in the way it wound off into long improvisations, but its rhythms were firmly planted in funk, soul, and R&B, giving it a mass appeal that made it the biggest-selling jazz album of all time (a record which was later broken). Jazz purists, of course, decried the experiments at the time, but Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital decades after its initial release, and its genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop. by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist:
1 Chameleon 15:41
Written-By – B. Maupin, H. Mason, H. Hancock, P. Jackson
2 Watermelon Man 6:29
Arranged By – H. Mason
Written-By – H. Hancock
3 Sly 10:15
Written-By – H. Hancock
4 Vein Melter 9:09
Written-By – H. Hancock
Credits:
Congas, Shekere, Balafon, Agogô, Cabasa, Whistle [Hindewho], Tambourine, Slit Drum [Log Drum], Surdo, Bells [Gankoqui], Percussion [Beer Bottle] – Bill Summers
Drums [Yamaha] – Harvey Mason
Electric Bass, Marimbula – Paul Jackson
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Clavinet [Hohner D 6], Synthesizer [Arp Odyssey, Arp Soloist], Pipe – Herbie Hancock
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Saxello, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute – Bennie Maupin

HERBIE HANCOCK - Thrust (1974-1998) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The follow-up to the breakthrough Headhunters album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the Headhunters lineup -- swapping drummer Harvey Mason for Mike Clark -- and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex. Hancock continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records. Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which ("Palm Grease," "Actual Proof," "Spank-A-Lee") concentrate on the funk, with plenty of Hancock's wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop. The change-of-pace is one of Hancock's loveliest electric pieces, "Butterfly," a match for any tune he's written before or since, with shimmering synth textures and Bennie Maupin soaring on soprano (Hancock would re-record it 20 years later on Dis Is Da Drum, but this is the one to hear). This supertight jazz-funk quintet album still sounds invigorating a quarter of a century later. by Richard S. Ginell  

Tracklist:

1. Palm Grease – 10:38

2. Actual Proof – 9:42

3. Butterfly (Hancock, Bennie Maupin) – 11:17

4. Spank-A-Lee (Hancock, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson) – 7:12

Credits:

Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner D-6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP Soloist,

ARP 2600, ARP String Ensemble

Bennie Maupin – soprano and tenor saxophones, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute

Paul Jackson – electric bass

Mike Clark – drums

Bill Summers - percussion

HERBIE HANCOCK - Flood (1975-2006) RM / APE (image+.cue), lossless

The follow-up to the breakthrough Headhunters album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the Headhunters lineup -- swapping drummer Harvey Mason for Mike Clark -- and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex. Hancock continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records. Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which ("Palm Grease," "Actual Proof," "Spank-A-Lee") concentrate on the funk, with plenty of Hancock's wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop. The change-of-pace is one of Hancock's loveliest electric pieces, "Butterfly," a match for any tune he's written before or since, with shimmering synth textures and Bennie Maupin soaring on soprano (Hancock would re-record it 20 years later on Dis Is Da Drum, but this is the one to hear). This supertight jazz-funk quintet album still sounds invigorating a quarter of a century later. by Richard S. Ginell  

Tracklist:

1. Introduction/Maiden Voyage (Hancock) (7:58)

2. Actual Proof (Hancock) (8:28)

3. Spank-A-Lee (Clark, Hancock, Jackson) (8:47)

4. Watermelon Man (Hancock) (5:50)

5. Butterfly (Hancock, Maupin) (12:44)

6. Chameleon (Hancock, Jackson, Mason) (10:24)

7. Hang up Your Hang Ups (Hancock, Jackson, Ragin) (19:54)

Credits:

Herbie Hancock – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP Soloist, ARP String Ensemble

Bennie Maupin – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, flute, percussion

Dewayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight – guitar

Paul Jackson – Fender bass

Mike Clark – drum set

Bill Summers – congas, percussion

HERBIE HANCOCK - Mwandishi (1971-2007) RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

It is one of Hancock's first departures from the traditional idioms of jazz as well as the onset of a new, creative and original style which produced an appeal to a wider audience, before his 1973 album, Head Hunters. In addition, Mwandishi was Hancock's attempt at continuing the musical principles and styles he began playing with Miles Davis on In A Silent Way. Hancock's previous attempts at jazz-rock fusion included Fat Albert Rotunda, an album conceived solely for Bill Cosby's Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

Mwandishi was recorded at Wally Heider Recording Studios, in San Francisco, California in December 1970. It was originally recorded by the Mwandishi Sextet that was built around Herbie Hancock and progressive notions of funk, jazz, and rock during this time period.

The tracks on Mwandishi are "Ostinato," the time signature of which is 15/8, "You'll Know When You Get There", and "Wandering Spirit Song". "Wandering Spirit Song" features Hancock's extensive use of tension and release, whereby he builds the tension of the song by increasing the amount of musical voices and increasing crescendos, only to release the tension with long held out chords on his synthesizer.

Mwandishi is a Swahili name Hancock adopted during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The members of the Sextet each adopted a Swahili name: Mchezaji/Buster Williams, Jabali/Billy Hart, Mganga/Eddie Henderson, Mwile/Bennie Maupin, Pepo Mtoto/Julian Priester, and Ndugu/Leon Chancler.

With the formation of his great electric sextet, Herbie Hancock's music took off into outer and inner space, starting with the landmark Mwandishi album recorded in a single session on New Year's Eve. Ever the gadgeteer, Herbie plays with electronic effects devices -- reverb units, stereo tremelo, and Echoplex -- which all lead his music into spacier, open-ended directions very much influenced by Miles Davis' electric experiments, rendering it from post-bop conventions. There are just three tracks: the insistent 15/4-meter Afro-electric-funk workout "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)," the inquisitive "You'll Know When You Get There" with its ethereal Hancock voicings, and trombonist Julian Priester's "Silent Way"-influenced "Wandering Spirit Song," which eventually dips into tumultuous free form. Eddie Henderson emerges as a major trumpet soloist here, probing, jabbing, soliloquizing; Bennie Maupin comes over from Lee Morgan's group to add his ominous bass clarinet and thoughtful alto flute; and Buster Williams' bass and Billy Hart's flexible drums propel the rhythm section. Santana's José Chepitó Areas and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler also add funky percussive reinforcement to "Ostinato," along with guitarist Ron Montrose. The group's collective empathy is remarkable, and Hancock had only begun to probe the outer limits with this extraordinary music. by Richard S. Ginell

Tracklist:

1. Ostinato (Suite For Angela)

2. You'll Know When You Get There

3. Wandering Spirit Song

4. Ostinato (Suite for Angela) [promo edit]

5. You'll Know When You Get There [promo edit]

Personnel:

Mwandishi / Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes piano

Mchezaji / Buster Williams – Bass

Jabali / Billy Hart – Drums

Mganga / Eddie Henderson – Trumpet, flugelhorn

Mwile / Bennie Maupin – Bass clarinet, alto flute, piccolo

Pepo Mtoto / Julian Priester – tenor trombone, bass trombone

Ronnie Montrose – Guitar on "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)"

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums and percussion

Chepito / Jose Areas – congas and Timbales on "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)"

JACK DeJOHNETTE - The DeJohnette Complex (1969-1991) RM / APE (image+.cue), lossless

The DeJohnette Complex is the debut album by Jack DeJohnette featuring Bennie Maupin, Stanley Cowell, Miroslav Vitous, Eddie Gómez, and Roy Haynes recorded in 1968 and released on the Milestone label in 1969.

Drummer Jack DeJohnette's debut as a leader (which has been reissued on CD) has quite a bit of variety. The music ranges from advanced swinging to brief free improvisations and some avant-funk. DeJohnette (who doubles on melodica) is joined by Bennie Maupin (on tenor and flute), keyboardist Stanley Cowell, bassists Miroslav Vitous and Eddie Gomez, and drummer Roy Haynes. He uses six different combinations of musicians on the eight songs (five of his originals, John Coltrane's "Miles' Mode," Cowell's "Equipoise" and Vitous' "Mirror Image"). Intriguing and generally successful music. 

This album, released in 1969, has all the charms of an eager first album. THE DEJOHNETTE COMPLEX also makes a solid case for Jack DeJohnette as a formidable composer and band leader. He already had impressive credentials as a drummer, having had successful stints with both Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis (after replacing Tony Williams).

The players on this album are some of the best of that time: Miroslav Vitous and Eddie Gomez on bass, Stanley Cowell on piano, Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone, and Roy Haynes on drums. There are angular ballads and furiously cascading post-bop rave-ups. The compositions reveal DeJohnette's deep musical background and training in classical piano.

Tracklist:

1. Equipoise (Stanley Cowell) - 3:58

2. The Major General - 6:34

3. Miles' Mode (John Coltrane) - 6:36

4. Requiem Number 1 - 2:21

5. Mirror Image (Miroslav Vitous) - 5:08

6.   Papa, Daddy and Me - 7:53

7. Brown, Warm and Wintry - 5:02

8. Requiem Number 2 - 1:41

Personnel

    Jack DeJohnette: drums, melodica

    Bennie Maupin: tenor saxophone, wood flute, flute

    Stanley Cowell: electric piano, piano

    Miroslav Vitous; bass

    Eddie Gomez: bass

    Roy Haynes: drums, percussion