Sextant (album)
1973 studio album by Herbie Hancock
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Sextant is the eleventh studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on March 30, 1973, by Columbia Records. It was Hancock's first album on Columbia, and his final album with the "Mwandishi" sextet featuring woodwind player Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Billy Hart. Synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson and percussionist Buck Clarke also appear.
| Sextant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 30, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | early 1973 | |||
| Studios | Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur, San Francisco | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 39:02 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | David Rubinson | |||
| Herbie Hancock chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Rolling Stone 1998 | [3] |
| Rolling Stone 2004 | [5] |
| Uppity Music | (favorable)[6] |
| Virgin Encyclopedia | [7] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [9] |
The album showcased Hancock's early adoption of synthesizers and electronic effects.[3] Upon release, the record was considered to be a commercial flop, and Hancock subsequently formed a new band, the Headhunters, with only Maupin continuing on from the "Mwandishi" band.[3]
Critical reception
AllMusic called the album a "gem" which features "a kind of post-modal, free impressionism that traces the edges of funk."[4] Rolling Stone wrote that, "taking his cue from [Miles] Davis' swirling, anarchic Bitches Brew and On the Corner, Hancock went even further into outer space [...] much of Sextant, with its twittering, burbling effects, amounts to a primitive version of Nineties ambient music."[3] The album was called an "uncompromising avant-funk masterpiece" by Paste in a retrospective review.[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rain Dance" | 9:16 |
| 2. | "Hidden Shadows" | 10:11 |
| Total length: | 19:27 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hornets" | 19:35 |
| Total length: | 19:35 | |
Personnel
- Mwandishi (Herbie Hancock) – piano, Rhodes piano, Clavinet, Mellotron, ARP 2600 synthesizer, ARP Pro Soloist synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, percussion
- Mwile (Bennie Maupin) – soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, piccolo, afuche, "hum-a-zoo"
- Mganga (Eddie Henderson) – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Pepo (Julian Priester) – trombone, bass trombone, alto trombone, cowbell
- Mchezaji (Buster Williams) – bass guitar, double bass
- Jabali (Billy Hart) – drums
- Patrick Gleeson – ARP 2600, ARP Pro Soloist
- Buck Clarke – percussion
- FUNDI – "Random Resonator"