Product details
- Label ECM Records
- Artist Bennie Maupin
- Format 1LP
- Country Germany
- Released Date 2025
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed Yes
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The Jewel In The Lotus by Bennie Maupin.
Few records in the ECM catalog feel as quietly transformative as Bennie Maupin's "The Jewel In The Lotus." Recorded in March 1974 at The Record Plant in New York City, this is a document of a reedman stepping fully into his own vision, moving through reeds, voice, and glockenspiel with a patience and spaciousness that mark it as something apart. The music, all composed by Maupin himself, unfolds across eight pieces that breathe as much as they speak.
The company Maupin keeps here is remarkable. Herbie Hancock brings piano and electric piano, deepening the textures with a hand that knows exactly when to recede. Buster Williams anchors the sessions on bass, while the percussion is unusually rich and dimensional. Freddie Waits works the left channel on drums and marimba, Billy Hart the right on drums, and Bill Summers rounds out the palette with percussion, including the wonderfully unorthodox water-filled garbage can. It is that kind of record, alert to sound in all its forms.
The album opens with "Ensenada" before moving through the restless "Mappo," the searching "Excursion," and the meditative equation of "Past + Present = Future." These are pieces that reward close listening, each one carving out its own atmosphere rather than chasing a groove. Maupin's writing favors mood and motion over spectacle, and the ensemble follows him into that open terrain with grace.
The second side carries the title track, "The Jewel In The Lotus," a centerpiece that gives the whole record its contemplative gravity. From there come "Winds Of Change," the tender "Song For Tracie Dixon Summers," and the closing "Past Is Past," which brings the journey full circle. Throughout, the balance between stillness and energy stays perfectly poised, a testament to Manfred Eicher's production and to engineers Dennis Ferrante, who captured the sessions, and Jan Erik Kongshaug, who handled the mix.
The physical presentation matches the music's care. Betye Saar contributed the cover design, with cover photography by James Lott and additional photography by Kira Tolkmitt, giving the package a visual identity as considered as the sound within. Friedrich Kunzmann's liner notes offer further context for those who want to sit with the story behind the recording.
This pressing, made in the EU and Germany, carries the ℗ 1981 and © 2025 ECM Records GmbH markings, with stamped runouts. For collectors drawn to the deeper, more spiritual currents of 1970s jazz, "The Jewel In The Lotus" remains an essential and endlessly rewarding listen, a quiet masterwork from one of the era's most distinctive voices.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. Ensenada
A2. Mappo
A3. Excursion
A4. Past + Present = Future
B1. The Jewel In The Lotus
B2. Winds Of Change
B3. Song For Tracie Dixon Summers
B4. Past Is Past
Credits:
Buster Williams - Bass
Betye Saar - Design [Cover Design]
Freddie Waits - Drums [Left Channel], Marimba [Left Channel]
Billy Hart - Drums [Right Channel]
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Engineer [Mixing Engineer]
Dennis Ferrante - Engineer [Recording Engineer]
Friedrich Kunzmann - Liner Notes
Bennie Maupin - Music By
Bill Summers - Percussion, Performer [Water-Filled Garbage Can]
James Lott (2) - Photography By [Cover Photo]
Kira Tolkmitt - Photography By [Photo]
Herbie Hancock - Piano, Electric Piano [E-Piano]
Manfred Eicher - Producer [Produced By]
Bennie Maupin - Reeds, Voice, Glockenspiel
Notes:
Recorded March 1974 at The Record Plant, New York City
℗ 1981 © 2025 ECM Records GmbH
Made in EU
Made in Germany
Runouts are stamped.
Artist: Bennie Maupin
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: ECM Records
Catalog Number: ECM 1043
Release Year: 2025
Country: Germany
Condition: Sealed (New)
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