For whatever combination of reasons, from geography to stylistic restlessness, the breadth and depth of 84 year old woodwind virtuoso Bennie Maupin’s work have long been underappreciated. His playing is at times simple and at times cerebral and complex, at times emotionally uninhibited and at times patient and restrained, at times presented in highly modern contexts and at times in highly accessible ones. Hopefully digging into some of this music will touch the surface of his artistry for those of you less familiar with his work, and if it leaves you motivated to support him and his family amidst the ongoing rebuilding process after the L.A. wildfires claimed his home earlier this year, all the better.

In addition to other albums by many of the artists listed below, his extraordinary discography also includes noteworthy albums I couldn’t make room for here by the Jimmy Owens/Kenny Barron quintet, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Andrew Hill, Eddie Henderson, Lenny White, and Woody Shaw, among others. It’s a special treat to be working on one of his pieces right now with my students in the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble while being looked upon by his image in the poster documenting his sublime performance here 15 years ago.

1 ) “Almanac” from Almanac by Mike Nock (1967)

This is not the first session to feature Bennie (hats off to Marion Brown for recognizing his talent a couple years prior) on tenor saxophone, but it’s the first that knocked me out. This is classic, burning modern jazz with nice solos from pianist Nock (himself an underrated figure as well) and bassist Cecil McBee following Bennie’s muscular statement.

2 ) “Heschen” from Taru by Lee Morgan (1968)

Bennie’s playing in this era is often high-energy, so it’s particularly illuminating to hear how lyrical and relaxed he sounds on tenor on this gentle waltz by Lee Morgan. Lee and pianist John Hicks also solo wonderfully.

3 ) “The Major General” from DeJohnette Complex by Jack DeJohnette (1968)

If the tenor burning on entry #1 above were the hottest he ever got, Bennie’s bona fides would be secure. But here, alongside Stanley Cowell, Miroslav Vitous, and Jack DeJohnette, the temperatures of tempo and fury get cranked up a notch. Bennie’s own playing walks a remarkable tightrope between masterful and uninhibited.  

4 ) “It’s Time” from You Gotta Take A Little Love by Horace Silver (1969)

This slyly grooving tune, which moves from modern jazz rhumba to relaxed swing, is a highlight from Bennie’s important time in pianist/composer Horace Silver’s band, if perhaps not as well-known as the tunes from Serenade to a Soul Sister. Sharing frontline duties with Randy Brecker, he proves himself a fully worthy heir to his esteemed tenor saxophone predecessors in the group like Joe Henderson and Junior Cook. This tune also represents some of the most swinging drumming you’ll hear from Billy Cobham, who, like Bennie, would become best known as a jazz/rock fusion titan in the subsequent decade.

5 ) “Jabali” from Complete On the Corner Sessions by Miles Davis (1972)

When one survey’s Miles Davis’s early electric/fusion work such as Bitches Brew, one can’t avoid the sonority of Bennie’s bass clarinet. Here is an amazing if lesser-known example of this, where that sound melds with the percussion textures of Badal Roy and Mtume underneath solos by Miles on trumpet and Herbie Hancock, already an employer of Bennie’s by this point, on organ. Then, as a bonus, Bennie switches over to flute for a solo of his own.

6 ) “Sly” from Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock (1973)

It would be pretty easy to compile a Top 10 list comprised entirely of Bennie’s work on 1970s Herbie Hancock projects, particularly (though not limited to) the Headhunters. While ironically one of the less-iconic tracks on that group’s debut album (yes, “Chameleon,” yes “Watermelon Man,” I know) the soulful intensity of Bennie’s soprano atop the gnarly groove underpinning his solo (one of several gnarly grooves on this tune) is superlative.

7 ) “Jewel in the Lotus” from Jewel in the Lotus (1974)

With all the hard grooves to which folks had been accustomed with Bennie’s work up to the point of his first album as a bandleader, it may have been surprising to hear such moody, ethereal work – it certainly was to me, retroactively, the first time I heard this record. His writing and soprano work are captivating here alongside the sometimes psychedelic textures of Herbie’s electric piano, Buster Williams’s bass, and the twin drums of Jabali Billy Hart and Freddie Waits.  

8 ) “One of Another Kind” from Together by McCoy Tyner (1978)

This upbeat Latin number from the pen of Freddie Hubbard provides a vehicle for some authoritative blowing from Freddie, Bennie (heard here on tenor), and McCoy on piano, with Stanley Clarke, Bill Summers, and Jack DeJohnette rumbling underneath and alongside throughout. Note that the (non-soloing on this track) flute here is not courtesy of Bennie himself, but rather Hubert Laws.  

9 ) “Equal Justice” from Penumbra (2003)

For one of the great woodwind artists of our time, Bennie sure plays the heck out of the piano, as we hear in this nuanced performance. Michael Stephans (who joined Buster Williams in accompanying Bennie in the Wesleyan concert mentioned up top) and Darek Oleszkiewicz (who takes a lovely solo) round out the trio on this moody, colorful ballad.

10 ) “Message for Prez” from The Chamber by Cathy Segal-Garcia (2018)

Cathy Segal-Garcia is a hip, broad-reaching jazz vocalist, and here she gathers together several more, including Tierney Sutton, Kate McGarry, Mon David, and members of her own vocal workshop, Fish to Birds, along with strings, winds, and rhythm section, to interpret one of Bennie’s most beautiful compositions, itself a tribute to Lester Young. Fortunately, Bennie himself joins in with his soulful bass clarinet as the piece de resistance of this epic, moving performance.