Sextant (album)

Sextant is the eleventh studio album by Herbie Hancock, released in 1973 by Columbia. It is the last album with the Mwandishi-era sextet featuring saxophonist 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 Herbie Hancock
Released	30 March 1973
Recorded	early 1973
Studio	Wally Heider (San Francisco) Different Fur (San Francisco)
Genre	Jazz fusion[1] avant-funk[2] jazz-rock[3]
Length	39:02
Label	Columbia
Producer	David Rubinson
Herbie Hancock chronology
Crossings (1972) Sextant (1973) Head Hunters (1973)

Professional ratings

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]

Background

Released on March 30, 1973, Sextant was Herbie Hancock's first album on Columbia Records,^[3] and the last with his Mwandishi-era group. The album showcased Hancock's early adoption of synthesizers and electronic effects.^[3]

Upon release, the record was considered to be a commercial flop.^[3]

Critical reception

AllMusic called the album a "gem" which features "a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing 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 Magazine.^[2]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rain Dance"	9:16
2.	"Hidden Shadows"	10:11
Total length:		19:27

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hornets"	19:35
Total length:		19:35

Personnel

• Mwandishi (Herbie Hancock) – piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, Mellotron, ARP 2600, ARP Pro Soloist, Moog synthesizer
• Mwile (Bennie Maupin) – soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, piccolo, afuche
• Mganga (Eddie Henderson) – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Pepo (Julian Priester) – bass trombone, tenor 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

References

1. Little, Michael H. "Graded on a Curve: Herbie Hancock, Head Hunters". The Vinyl District. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
2. Jarnow, Jesse. "Herbie Hancock: Cafe Curiosity". Paste. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
3. Scherman, Tony (2011). "Sextant : Herbie Hancock : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
4. Jurek, Thom (2011). "Sextant - Herbie Hancock | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
5. RSguide, 2004
6. "Uppity Music: Herbie Hancock: Sextant (1973)". uppitymusic.com. 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
7. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 378.
8. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2000). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 656.
9. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. U.S.: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 94. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.

External links

• Sextant at Discogs