Multi-reedist Bennie Maupin first made his mark contributing that bad-assed bass clarinet to Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and then joined Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi space-funk fusion group, staying on with Herbie to join his Headhunters band in 1974.
Right about the time Mwandishi was wrapping up and the more accessible Headhunters was getting assembled, Maupin decided to record his first solo album and brought in most of the band members from Mwandishi, including Hancock, to be his supporting band.
The Jewel in the Lotus, released in March 1974, naturally drew comparisons with Hancock’s Mwandishi recordings. In truth, however, only the title track bears a close resemblance sonically, as Herbie plays a spaced-out electric piano similar to what he did on “You’ll Know When You Get There.”
The Jewel in the Lotus, for the most part, lacks any discernible groove: Percussion exists for coloring and the rhythm is free-flowing. This is exactly the kind of abstract chamber jazz that you’d expect a mid-’70s ECM record to showcase.
That isn’t to say there isn’t some good comping going on. Buster Williams plausibly impersonates Ron Carter on “Mappo,” for instance. But Bennie Maupin is generally more interested in the kind of group improvisation that made Mwandishi special, though with Manfred Eicher’s more sterile production – and without the dated synths – The Jewel in the Lotus stands the test of time better.
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