Review: Bennie Maupin's contributions to many a groundbreaking jazz record - Miles Davis's Bitches Brew, Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi and Headhunters, and Marion Brown's Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun - all cemented his long-harked reptutation as an inventive jazz dynamo. His own releases as a bandleader were relatively sparse, but his debut album remains a standout; described by Down Beat in 1975 as "selfless", The Jewel In The Lotus heard Maupin instead focus his instructive efforts on his bandmates, whose one rule, issued by Maupin himself, was to "keep it seamless". You'll mostly hear the chops of musicians closely connected to Hancock's circle from late 1970s New York, where talent beamed and popped like cinders on brimstone.
Review: 1997's Slow Traffic to the Right found Bennie Maupin navigating between cerebral jazz and deep funk with style and ease. Though generally known for his abstract leanings and serious musical demeanour, here he showed a lighter side - not least because he is actually smiling on the album cover - while diving into grooves shaped by his time with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. With help from rhythm masters like Mike Clark and Paul Jackson, Maupin swaps out ECM austerity for signature Oakland bounce, so tracks like 'It Remains to Be Seen' and 'You Know the Deal' excel with newfound swagger without abandoning his jazz roots. It's a compelling pivot into accessible, funky and smart jazz soul.
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