By Nestor CASTIGLIONE

“The Jewel in the Lotus” was jazz multireedist Bennie Maupin’s first album as leader, having established himself as a sideman to Herbie Hancock. It quickly became regarded as a classic and one of the linchpins of the ECM Records catalog. Eclectic and dazzling, the album took the influences from Hancock’s Mwandishi and pushed it further into a visionary and unique sound that, at times, seems to take leave of the ground of jazz.

On Friday night, Maupin will perform the album live for the first time in an event that promises to be one of the highlights of the concert season.

The REDCAT Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles (631 W. 2nd St.) will see Maupin and his ensemble, including musicians such as Eyvind Kang and David Johnson, take the stage in a recreation of the 1974 classic.

General admission tickets are $25, students $20, and CalArts students $15. To obtain tickets and more information, visit https://www.redcat.org/event/bennie-maupin-plays-jewel-lotus-1974ecm.

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Composers like Beethoven and Stravinsky were the sort of artists who wound their paths through every genre of classical music and left their indelible mark upon them. Then there were those who focused on a single genre. Think Mahler, whose output consisted mainly of the symphonic colossi that have carried his name around the world. For Chopin, it was the intimate world of the piano that he made utterly his own.

Though his name is virtually synonymous with the piano, he did venture outside its realm of black and white to try on the colors of voices and strings.

Le Salon de Musiques on Sunday, Dec. 10, will be demonstrating the range of the composer’s work in a program that spans the length of his brief life: from the early “Piano Trio, Op. 8” to the late songs, Op. 74.

The chamber series’ founder and artistic director François Chouchan will take center stage as pianist in this program.

The performance will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 4 p.m., with refreshments served afterwards. General admission tickets are $85, student tickets are $45. To purchase tickets and obtain more information, visit www.lesalondemusiques.com or call (310) 498-0257.

Also on Sunday, at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, the Salastina Society will be presenting a program together with local publishing house Red Hen Press that explores the nexus between words and music.

Composer Eric Whitacre and California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia will host a program that includes works by George Harrison, Danny Elfman and Whitacre himself.

The performance will take place at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica (1310 11th St.) on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $35. To obtain tickets and more information, please go online to www.salastina.org.

  Nestor CASTIGLIONE