Maupin, Bennie: Jewel in the Lotus (Luminessence) LP

Bennie Maupin has been an inventive contributor to iconic records, including Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi and Headhunters, and Marion Brown’s Afternoon of a Georgia Faun. His recordings under his own name have been infrequent but his leader debut, is indeed a jewel. “A more selfless album is hard to imagine,” said DownBeat in 1975. “On The Jewel in the Lotus, the sound is supreme, and all the players strive to achieve a thorough blending.” Recorded in New York in 1974, it is a long overdue addition to the ECM Luminessence Series. Luminessence, ECM's new audiophile vinyl-reissue series, is a kaleidoscope, shedding light on the jewels of the label's deep catalogue in elegant, high-quality editions. The hallmarks of the series: original and evocative music, imaginatively played and sensitively produced. The recordings underline the scope and variety of ECM's world of sound and the LPs are presented in different formats.