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.
 
Tracklist:

Side A
1. Ensenada
2. Mappo
3. Excursion
4. Past + Present = Future
 
Side B
5. The Jewel In The Lotus
6. Winds Of Change
7. Song For Tracie Dixon Summers
8. Past Is Past