This version of Quickies focuses on new rock and old jazz. One thing they have in common: it's all good.

The Eagles Long Road Out Of Eden
I haven't had enough time to give this  the in-depth evaluation it deserves (and thus, it's a "quickie"). The first release of all new songs by this major act in twenty-eight years clearly deserves one but my initial impression is this is a record that plays to all their strengths: crisp songwriting by the Frey/Henley partnership ("I Love To Watch A Woman Dance" is drop dead gorgeous) and simple but precise musicianship and gorgeous harmonies. In fact, the harmonies sound even better than during their heyday; we're talking CSNY good, people.
Just as Don Henley promised in his Billboard interview, this isn't a record that bothers in the least to follow any trend, it's unabashedly an Eagles record. Like another prominent '70s band who avoided creative fallout in the '80s and '90s simply by not releasing new material during that time, Eden looks poised to provide the Eagles a Steely Dan-style comeback. As Henley sings, "I've been waiting in the weeds." The Eagles seemed to be doing just that before springing their perfected blend of country, rock and folk on a public that's most likely ready to hear this kind of music again.

Long Road Out Of Eden is not available on Amazon but you can order it here. Or, pick it up at your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart, courtesy of an exclusive distribution deal the band made with the giant retailer.

Bennie Maupin The Jewel In The Lotus

Multi-reedist Bennie Maupin first made his mark contributing that bad-assed bass clarinet to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and then joined Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi space-funk fusion group, staying on with Herbie to join his Headhunters band in 1974. Right about the time Mwandishi was wrapping up and the more accessible Headhunters was getting assembled, Maupin decided to record his first solo album and brought in most of the band members from Mwandishi, including Hancock, to be his supporting band. This 1974 debut by Maupin has now been remastered for re-release on the ECM label.

It's only natural to compare this record Hancock's Mwandishi recordings
Only the title track bears close resemblance sonically, however, as Herbie plays a spaced-out electric piano similar to what he did on "You'll Know When You Get There." But all of the tracks lack a groove; percussion exists for coloring and the rhythm is free-flowing. This is the kind of abstract chamber jazz that you'd expect a mid-seventies ECM record to sound like. That isn't to say there isn't some good comping going on; Buster Williams plausibly impersonates Ron Carter on "Mappo," for instance. But Maupin is generally more interested in the kind of group improvision that made Mwandishi special and with Manfreed Eicher's sterile production and without the dated synths, The Jewel In The Lotus stands the test of time better.