Well.... if you want to know what living uncomfortably close to an uncontained wildfire is like, Joy Press has just written a piece about the last week in our lives.  

Our go-bags are packed and sitting patiently near the front door. Pretty unlikely we'll need to use them at this point - but then again, the winds pick up again on Tuesday, so who knows... 

Up the road from us - not just up the road, but in a fairly straight line steadily ascending to the foot of the mountains - lies the town of Altadena. Which is more or less completely gone. 

Didn't know this until a few days ago but among the area's residents is jazz legend Bennie Maupin, who played bass clarinet - what Miles Davis apparently called "that funny horn" - on albums like Bitches Brew and On the Corner. He also played a variety of woodwind and horn instruments with Herbie Hancock during his thrilling '70s run of albums -   and with too many others to mention. Maupin was also at the core of The Headhunters, as in "God Made Me Funky". Then there's Maupin's solo discography, among whose highlights is the classic ECM album The Jewel In the Lotus.  The fire consumed his home of 25 years - instruments, photos, memorabilia, everything. There's a fundraiser to help him and his family get back on their feet - do think about contributing if you loved those records, or even if you didn't. 

There's an in-depth interview with Maupin here at The Last Miles webzine, looking at his whole career but with particular focus on his work with Davis. 

Two songs from Crossings that Maupin wrote as well as played on - "Quasar" and "Water Torture". 

Maupin's own later very different versions for his solo record Slow Traffic To The Right

You gotta love this album cover.

Now this next tune was one of my Atemporal Faves last year

On Sextant, Maupin's credit name was Mwile - in addition to an array of woodwinds and brass, he also played afuche. 

From a latterday project with fellow Hancock sideman and synthologist Dr. Patrick Gleeson - jazzstep approached from the opposite direction

Bennie still got it... these are from just a couple of years ago, a collaboration with Adam Rudolph. The whole record is well worth seeking out -  moody, spacey atmospheres that would sit perfectly amid Jazz Satellites, the "electric jazz" compilation curated by Kevin Martin. 

Another LA-based artist known for spacey groovescapes esoterically steeped in decade upon decade of Black music history (I wouldn't be surprised if he's sampled Mr. Maupin at some point) is Madlib. He too  lost his home, studio, equipment, recordings, vast record collection... Here's a fund to help him rebuild. 

Local music webzine In Sheep's Clothing Hi-Fi has a piece by Randall Roberts on how to help the LA music community.