BENNIE MAUPIN - MOONSCAPES / SLOW TRAFFIC TO THE RIGHT

Bennie Maupin is best known for his atmospheric bass clarinet playing on Miles Davis’ classic Bitches Brew album, as well as other Miles Davis recordings such as, “Big Fun” “Jack Johnson,” and “On the Corner.” He was a founding member of Herbie Hancock’s seminal band The Headhunters, as well as a performer and composer in Hancock’s influential Mwandishi band. Born in 1940, Maupin started playing clarinet, later adding saxophone, flute and, most notably, the bass clarinet to his formidable arsenal of woodwind instruments. Upon moving to New York in 1962, he freelanced with groups led by Marion Brown, Pharoah Saunders, and Chick Corea, and played regularly with Roy Haynes and Horace Silver. He also recorded with McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Jack DeJohnette, Andrew Hill, Eddie Henderson, and Woody Shaw to name only a few.

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), Moonscapes (1978) both on Mercury Records, and Driving While Black (1998) on Intuition. 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. 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.

Released just this past year are pair of funky jazz sets from Bennie Maupin – Slow Traffic To The Right (1976) and Moonscapes (1978)– together in a single set. Slow Traffic To The Right features a great bit of spiritual funky jazz that recalls a lot of the sound of his work with The Headhunters. The first track, "It Remains to Be Seen", is an excellent groover, with some very dark keyboard work by Patrice Rushen, and the rest of the tracks are pretty great too. Pat Gleeson produced and plays synth on the LP, and the cuts include "Quasar", "You Know the Deal", "Water Torture", and "Lament". Next up is Moonscapes, and like a lot of the other Mercury jazz records from the late 70s, it's a great mix of funky jazz playing and smooth studio production. The production is again by Pat Gleeson, who was best known for his arp and synth playing in the mid 70s. Maupin's playing is great throughout, and his pinched hard reed sound feels good on both the fusiony tracks and the smoother funk ones! Tracks include "Nightwatch", "Sansho Shima", "Anua", "Crystals" and "Just Give It Some Time".