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Bennie Maupin
Maupin's own discography as a leader includes a well-received recording for ECM Records, The Jewel in The Lotus (1974), Slow Traffic to the Right (1976) and Moonscapes, both on Mercury Records (1978), and Driving While Black on Intuition (1998). The instrumentation of Maupin's current group, The Bennie Maupin Ensemble harkens back to the tradition of great saxophone-bass-drum trios, such as the group led by Sonny Rollins with Wilbur Ware and Elvin Jones.
The Bennie Maupin Ensemble came about as a result of Maupin's continuing musical association and friendship with drummer/percussionist Michael Stephans. Internationally renowned bassist Derek Oles was a natural addition because of his open approach to interpretation and improvisation, as well as his masterful bass playing. In early 2003 world class percussionist Munyungo Jackson joined the group, and the Bennie Maupin Ensemble was born. The 2006 release, Penumbra, is a profound musical statement by an important jazz artist who is at the pinnacle of his artistic powers. Penumbra is dedicated to the memory of Lyle "Spud" Murphy.
While echoes of the great John Coltrane can be heard in Maupin's work, one can also discern the influences of Yusef Lateef, Sonny Rollins, and Eric Dolphy, as well as Maupin's contemporaries like Wayne Shorter and the late Joe Henderson. Maupin's approach to his music is intentional and profound, yet alive in the interpretation of the moment. He maintains active performing and teaching careers in Europe, and the U.S. Bennie Maupin currently resides in the Los Angeles area.
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The Electric Years Box Set
![Read "The Electric Years Box Set" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/2010/ff2cf6c4f963c09fb727249c5cf7f42d.jpg)
by Mike Jurkovic
In a year that has brought us a true bounty of previously unheard majesty including Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!), and Bill Evans; Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), (Elemental Music) it is only fitting that Miles Davis get his due. And in a very, very big way. Seared into modern memory, modern art, the music presented on the gloriously massive, eleven LP set Miles Davis: The Electric Years ...
read moreBlackstone Legacy
![Read "Blackstone Legacy" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/5af700a5184c784e2e39591185135b71.jpg)
by C. Andrew Hovan
When trumpeter Woody Shaw passed away in 1989, he left behind a wealth of amazing music, notwithstanding the realized sadness inherent in wondering what more he could have accomplished had he lived a longer life. Back in the mid '60s, Shaw was ubiquitous as a sideman recording iconic albums with the likes of Larry Young, Horace Silver, Chick Corea, Art Blakey, and McCoy Tyner. Despite common misconceptions, Shaw led his first date as a leader in December of 1965, which ...
read moreJack DeJohnette: Sorcery
![Read "Sorcery" reviewed by Rob Garratt](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/d123a626f4ca61ed9c37beb71d57af42.jpg)
by Rob Garratt
Which Jack DeJohnette is best known? The subtle sticksmith at the heart of Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio, perhaps? Probably the heavyweight hitter driving electric-era Miles Davis' '70s sonic brew. Maybe the percussive upstart propelling Charles Lloyd to crossover flower-power fame? Or even the fearless bandleader behind the ever-thrilling Special Edition band ... At age 81, DeJohnette can (still) fairly claim to be the most in-demand jazz drummer on the planet. But even the most studious acolyte ...
read moreJack DeJohnette: Sorcery
![Read "Sorcery" reviewed by Scott Gudell](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/d123a626f4ca61ed9c37beb71d57af42.jpg)
by Scott Gudell
Jack DeJohnette gets around. The Chicago born drummer was drawn to R&B and bebop in the late 1950s and eventually toyed with a more avant-garde jazz sound when he spent some time with the esoteric Sun Ra. It seems like DeJohnette played in the big leagues almost from the beginning since, by the time he moved to New York City in the mid-1960s, he was teaming up with other monsters of jazz such as Keith Jarrett and Charles Lloyd. Several ...
read moreA Tribute to Someone
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by Patrick Burnette
Sometimes tribute" can be a dirty word in jazza sign a project's only justification is a well-known namea warning that reverence may have trumped inspiration on a record. But it doesn't have to be that way. This episode, the Bastards look at four 2022 releases that each celebrate a towering figure from jazz's past without getting tangled up in its shadow. With dedicatees as varied as Johnny Hodges, Charles Mingus, Yusef Lateef, and Wes Montgomery, things never get in a ...
read moreVarious Artists: John Sinclair Presents Detroit Artists Workshop
![Read "John Sinclair Presents Detroit Artists Workshop" reviewed by Chris May](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/5a0fd3122384605a1b9066d912d6effa.jpg)
by Chris May
Valuable as both a curated chronicle of jazz history and as high-grade music, John Sinclair Presents Detroit Artists Workshop: Community, Jazz And Art In The Motor City 19651981 comprises around 70 minutes of live recordings by some of Detroit's finest sons along with an informative 24-page booklet. Among the musicians are trumpeters Donald Byrd and Charles Moore, reeds player Bennie Maupin and, resident in the city in the mid 1960s, pianist Stanley Cowell. The backstory: The Artists ...
read moreBennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph: Symphonic Tone Poem For Brother Yusef
![Read "Symphonic Tone Poem For Brother Yusef" reviewed by Chris May](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/67343df40cad681473eef7a4c65ded52.jpg)
by Chris May
Had the multi-reed player Yusef Lateef still been alive in 2020, he would have been celebrating his 100th birthday. Sadly, Lateef passed seven years earlier. But 93 years is a good span for a jazz musician, especially one of Lateef's generation, who came of age in time to cut his professional teeth in swing bands. Lateef went on contribute to bop--he was a member of Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1949--and then to hard bop. In the mid 1950s, ...
read more5 Videos: Bennie Maupin
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
On Monday, I posted about Stanley Cowell, one of jazz's greatest living pianists. Today, I'm focusing on Bennie Maupin, another living jazz legend who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Maupin is perhaps best known for recording with Horace Silver (Serenade to a Soul Sister), Miles Davis (Bitches Brew) and Herbie Hancock (Headhunters, Thrust). Here are five videos featuring Maupin on a range of reed and woodwind instruments: Here's Maupin with pianist Horace Silver in Rotterdam in 1968 with Randy ...
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The Bennie Maupin Ensemble - Penumbra (2006)
![The Bennie Maupin Ensemble - Penumbra (2006)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/7a2dd4e8bd5d800513cd13bced49db3c.jpg)
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Something Else!
By Mark Saleski Back in the dark ages (read: before the Internet) I spent a fair amount of time searching out new music by paying very close attention to the listings of my local public and classical radio stations. On any given week night there might be broadcasts of solo works, string quartets, and all manner of chamber ensemble and full-on orchestral madness. That was how I discovered David Ocker. Specifically, Ocker's solo bass clarinet version of the 4th movement ...
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Forgotten Series: Bennie Maupin - The Jewel in the Lotus (1974)
![Forgotten Series: Bennie Maupin - The Jewel in the Lotus (1974)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/7a2dd4e8bd5d800513cd13bced49db3c.jpg)
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Something Else!
By Mark Saleski Part of the genius of Miles Davis (aside from the incredible compositions, insanely great trumpet work, and spooky ability to play just the right notes) was his amazing talent for selecting band members. The list is seemingly endless and the branches extend over an impressive subsection of modern jazz: John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Tony Williams, and on it goes. When Miles headed toward the electric side of ...
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Back to Roots, Ahead to the Future Pop and Jazz Best
![Back to Roots, Ahead to the Future Pop and Jazz Best](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/7a2dd4e8bd5d800513cd13bced49db3c.jpg)
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Michael Ricci
The best of this year’s rock, pop and jazz albums include releases by Metallica, Bennie Maupin, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
2. BENNIE MAUPIN Early Reflections (Cryptogramophone). The next chapter in the recent return of this saxophonist and bass clarinetist, who enlivened jazz during the 1970s with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. He’s now working with a Polish acoustic jazz trio, making patient music with open space and strong melodies.
4. RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA Kinsmen (Pi). This Indian- American jazz saxophonist ...
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Bennie Maupin Interviewed at AAJ
![Bennie Maupin Interviewed at AAJ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/bd38a72ed12128b10ddc05c6087dacb8.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
Bennie Maupin may be a multi-instrumentalist, but he's best-known as the bass clarinetist on albums including Miles Davis' classic Bitches Brew and Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters.
His own discography as a leader is small, but he made a welcome return this year with the Cryptogramophone release, Penumbra. A more intimate, acoustic set, it features Maupin with bassist Darek Oles, drummer Michael Stephans and longtime associate, percussionist Daryl Munyungo Jackson.
AAJ New York contributor Rex Butters had the opportunity to speak ...
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