{"product_id":"bennie-maupin-slow-traffic-to-the-right-2025-verve-by-request-reissue","title":"Bennie Maupin - Slow Traffic To The Right (2025 Verve By Request Reissue)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBennie Maupin holds the distinction of being the only musician to play on both Miles Davis’s \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/miles-davis-bitches-brew\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBitches Brew\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e and Herbie Hancock’s \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/herbie-hancock-head-hunters-200g-analogue-productions-reissue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHead Hunters\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e – the two most historically significant albums of jazz’s late ’60s\/early ’70s foray into rock and funk. This alone makes him a key figure in the evolution of fusion. But Maupin’s status as a versatile woodwind player (commandeering tenor and soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute) was seeded well prior, having served as a sideman in groups led by Marion Brown, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/the-horace-silver-quintet-silvers-serenade-blue-note-tone-poet-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eHorace Silver\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/leemorganthesidewinderclassicvinylseries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLee Morgan\u003c\/a\u003e, and others within the hard-bop\/post-bop circuit. Neither was his adaptability confined to varied instrumentation. As a soloist Maupin could be as lyrical, robust or harmonically adventurous as the context demanded – qualities that made him ideal for the intrepid explorations of Davis’s electric period (appearing on \u003cem\u003eBig Fun\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eOn the Corner\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eJack Johnson\u003c\/em\u003e) and Hancock’s experimental Mwandishi ensemble. As a composer, he might as readily contribute an ethereal slowburn beauty like “Neophilia” to Morgan’s quintet, as he could the main riffs to Hancock’s \u003cem\u003eHead Hunters\u003c\/em\u003e smash, “Chameleon” – the track that propelled the entire jazz-funk subgenre forward.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eSlow Traffic to the Right\u003c\/em\u003e, sees him marrying this approach (as represented by the lovely “Eternal Flame” and “Lament”) to a more conventionally commercial sound. In lesser hands this might prove problematic. However Maupin’s vision and execution – in tandem with frequent collaborators like bassist Paul Jackson, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, and producer Patrick Gleeson, amongst others – never feels imbalanced. Introduced by a striking melodic progression before giving way to a punchy motif in the “Chameleon” mode, “It Remains To Be Seen” catches fire via solos from Maupin on saxophone and a dazzling \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/patrice-rushen-prelusion-2024-jazz-dispensary-top-shelf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ePatrice Rushen\u003c\/a\u003e on keyboards. When the piece pauses from its danceable handclap groove into contemplation, it’s revealed – through Maupin’s hymnlike vocal – that the title isn’t skeptical at all, but hopeful: “Peace for the world will be seen\/ Because one man had a dream.” “You Know the Deal” is less conceptually ambitious but musically even tighter – a downtempo number bursting with funky intricacies that would make it ripe for sampling by hip-hop producers like Madlib and Mr. Attic decades down the line.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSlow Traffic\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s terrific “Quasar” reboot maximizes the composition’s melodic strength. The ultimate team-player on his own recording date, Maupin doesn’t even take a proper solo. Instead he keeps his flute and saxophone couched comfortably within the production’s lush orchestration as it builds to a fervent peak – a moment of beauty and exhilaration exemplary of Bennie Maupin’s selfless gifts. — via U Discover Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/43y6WwsOjZg9wZwnblofWo?utm_source=generator\u0026amp;theme=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Mercury, Verve Records\u003cbr\u003eSeries: Verve By Request\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2025 \/ Original Release: 1977\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Jazz\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Fusion, Jazz-Funk\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Soul-Jazz \/ Jazz-Funk\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mercury","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45431998054558,"sku":"602475200598","price":48.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/bennie-ma-sl.jpg?v=1747294659","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/bennie-maupin-slow-traffic-to-the-right-2025-verve-by-request-reissue","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}