Penumbra (Cryptogramophone Records)
The Bennie Maupin Ensemble
Released May 9, 2006
Jazzwise Top 10 Releases of 2006
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Mad5PBuGrw0&list=OLAK5uy_mq-jChkv7IdXbAWz1e-sVSmgkWXuImqb0
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5qdLVvnJDJ0p1gCB0Lnv6i?si=K3WzgbqQQr6HkM3Zg2p1ZA
About:
In this day and age of homogenization, compartmentalization, and relentless labeling of the musical arts, those among us who need the comfort of a “genre” or a “style” in order to say something like, “Oh, he’s a bebopper,” or “an avant-garde player,” can be easily confounded. Some of the best and most forward thinking of today’s young musicians clearly find ways to avoid being locked into a stylistic corner by self-proclaimed mavens of jazz and improvised music. Here on the left coast for example, guitarist Nels Cline in a single performance, can pay beautiful mellifluous homage to Jim Hall one minute, venture into the outer realms of Derek Bailey the next, and conclude with a searing, Hendrix-styled inspired burner (check out his wonderfully eclectic work on Cryptogramophone to see what I mean). Such eclecticism has to come from somewhere. Two of the major breeding grounds for this kind of imaginative diversity were and are, of course, the many musical odysseys of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Both were restless seekers, never satisfied with the status quo, always reaching beyond themselves for new and uncharted improvisational geographies. Both men, each in his own way, sounded a clarion call for musicians and listeners alike to wake up, shake off their complacency and, as J. Krishnamurti would have said, free themselves from the known. It’s safe to say that among those who were first to hear the call was woodwind virtuoso and master improviser, Bennie Maupin. To be a seeker in any art is a full-time thing. As a creative musician, one never stops listening, testing the waters, pushing the envelope, expanding the language. Bennie Maupin exemplifies the best of such things, and has embodied the spirits of both Miles and Coltrane as he forges his own unique sonic path and musical vision. His friendships and tutelage with Yusef Lateef, Sonny Rollins, and ‘Trane helped shape his musical personality; and the amazing breadth of his experience is reason enough to immerse yourself in his musical offerings. Bennie has played and recorded with a wide variety of musical icons, including trumpeters Davis, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard; pianists McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill; saxophonists Lateef and Marion Brown; and drummers Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, and Lenny White – to name only a few. He has played in all manner of musical settings and configurations, from solo performances to large orchestra concerts; from chamber recitals to Broadway shows. There is simply nothing the man can’t do and do brilliantly. Early on in the metamorphosis of the Ensemble, Bennie began exploring the trio format, and we were aided by some great bassists; however, once Darek Oles entered the picture, Bennie was certain that his was the voice that would enable the compositions and improvisations to breathe in a way that would illuminate the music and take it to another level. Darek is the core of so much of what we do. His dark, beautifully resonant sound moves around and through the musical tapestry, warping and woofing, creating lovely and always intriguing harmonic and rhythmic counterpoint. Malleable and intensely creative, Darek is a joy to make music with, and brings so much beauty to Bennie’s vision. As if there were no end to his gifts, Darek is a gifted composer as well, as evidenced by his debut disc for Cryptogramophone, Like a Dream. Munyungo Jackson is a wonder, a wizard of sound and feeling, a virtuoso percussionist, and an empathetic, endlessly inventive musician. His deep and abiding musical and personal relationship with Bennie spans at least thirty years, and he has been a member of virtually every one of Bennie’s groups since the mid-70’s. Munyungo is an affable, worldly man whose persona and music are so irrepressible that he could play the air and make meaningful music. Everything has musical potential to him, from the conventional families of percussion instruments to thunder sheets and water glasses, to vox humana. Whatever sound source or rhythm Munyungo chooses to play, is realized in the most musical way. His improvisational sensitivity and lyricism make him one of the most sought after percussionists playing today. To bear witness to Bennie’s remarkable musicality as a listener is a wondrous thing. To be an intimate part of its creation and flowering is a gift and a blessing. I have been playing with Bennie for almost a decade, and the journey has been challenging, inspiring, and deeply rewarding. Bennie’s music and his approach to group playing have allowed me to expand my own musical lexicon, and it has afforded me the opportunity to better understand the notion of interconnectivity, both in music and in life. To play the drums in Bennie’s ensemble is to transcend playing the drums. One leaves one’s ego at the door, so to speak, and becomes a musical presence, focusing inward and outward simultaneously, always in a state of becoming. The Ensemble continues at this writing to grow and thrive. We play concerts in museums, churches, galleries, and universities, and we conduct master classes. We even play for elementary school children, giving them their first real exposure to improvised music. Yet, no matter where we play or who we play for, we invariably go where the muse leads us at that moment. And each time we play, we breathe together, as though we were one body. Thanks to a common aesthetic, mutual trust, and like-mindedness, the Ensemble has evolved to the point that we no longer play the music; the music plays us. It has been a truly remarkable experience. And like Miles did with his great bands, Bennie is the metaphysical glue that holds us all together. His clear vision shines brightly as we traverse these musical landscapes. For us, this organic music is a four-way conversation among old, dear friends. What could be better than that?
Michael Stephans
Track Listing:
1. Neophilia (Bennie Maupin) 4:36
2. Walter Bishop Jr. (Bennie Maupin) 6:37
3. Level Three (Bennie Maupin) 3:17
4. Blinkers (Bennie Maupin) 1:24
5. Penumbra (Bennie Maupin) 7:06
6. Mirror Image (Bennie Maupin) 1:17
7. Message to Prez (Bennie Maupin) 6:07
8. Tapping Things (Bennie Maupin) 5:40
9. Vapors (Bennie Maupin) 4:45
10. One for Eric Dolphy (Bennie Maupin) 2:38
11. See the Positive (Bennie Maupin) 2:53
12. Trope on a Rope (Bennie Maupin) 3:51
13. The 12th Day (Bennie Maupin) 2:58
14. Equal Justice (Bennie Maupin) 7:15
Personnel:
Bennie Maupin: bass clarinet, tenor & soprano saxophones, alto flute, piano
Darek “Oles” Oleszkiewicz: bass
Michael Stephans: drums
Daryl Munyungo Jackson: percussion
Recorded June 16 – 17, 2003, at No Sound Studios, Pasadena, CA, by Nolan Shaheed, except for “Equal Justice” recorded December 11, 2006, at Crypto Studios, Los Angeles, CA, by Wayne Peet and mixed by Rich Breen
Produced by Bennie Maupin
Executive Producers: Bennie Maupin & Jeff Gauthier
Mastered by Rich Breen
Graphic Design by Alex Cline and Gareth Jiffeau
Cover Art: “Penumbra” © 2006 by Martha Castillo
Black and white photograph by Barbara DuMetz
Color photograph by Dietmar Halbauer
Review:
It’s been a
long time coming, but multi-reed player Maupin finally has made his great album
as a leader. A perennial sideman in early fusion bands (most notably on Miles
Davis’Bitches Brew) and in Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi, Maupin helped
connect hard bop and jazz-rock, but he never enjoyed wide acclaim. Without
casting an eye back to his past fusion glories, Maupin forges ahead on this
album, with an unfailingly lyrical woodwind voice that works in concert with a
unique and subtly textured ensemble.
Maupin’s bass clarinet has always been his calling card. On “Neophilia
2006” and “Message to Prez,” he plays it with an intimate woody
tone and coaxes lovely melancholy phrases from it that glance off the rhythm
section at unexpected angles. His airy alto flute weaves ethereal melodies over
African rhythms on the title track. His tenor sax has a slight acid bite to it,
just enough to give a plaintive edge to “Walter Bishop Jr.” and
“Trope on a Rope.”
The band’s instrumentation is spare — bass, drums, and percussion
— but potent. Darek Oleszkiewicz’s bass lines provide a dark hardwood
trestle around which the rest of the band intertwines. Drummer Michael Stephans
swings mightily at a quiet volume, his brushwork implying power and providing
drive while leaving space for the soloists. Percussionist Daryl Munyongo
Jackson adds color and additional rhythmic thrust without adding clutter.
Maupin has put together a late-career masterpiece that was worth the wait.
Ed Hazell (Jazziz)