Sextant (album)

Sextant
Studio album by Herbie Hancock
Released	March 30, 1973
Recorded	1972 Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco Different Fur Studios, San Francisco
Genre	Avant-garde jazz, jazz fusion
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	[1]
Julian Cope	(favorable)[2]
Rolling Stone 1998	[3]
Rolling Stone 2004	[4]
Uppity Music	(favorable)[5]
Virgin Encyclopedia	[6]
Penguin Guide to Jazz	[7]

Sextant is the eleventh album by Herbie Hancock, and the last album with his Mwandishi Band.

About the Album

Released in March 30, 1973 but recorded in 1972, Sextant was Herbie Hancock's first album on Columbia Records. It was a complex, harmonically and rhythmically challenging musical statement.^{[citation needed]} Hancock was no stranger to electronic music, having used synthesisers extensively during his short time with Warner Bros. Records, but Sextant took his sound to a new level.

While a select few praised his new approach, Hancock alienated the bulk of his audience, who found his sound extremely inaccessible.^{[citation needed]} Made up of just three tracks, the funkier elements of tracks such as "Hornets", also point toward the commercial success he would enjoy in the 80s with Future Shock and Sound-System, among others.

Hancock's first recording on Columbia would be his last recording with his Mwandishi-era group, with Sextant's poor album sales influencing his move into more mainstream music with Head Hunters.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs by Herbie Hancock

1. "Rain Dance" - 9:16
2. "Hidden Shadows" - 10:11
3. "Hornets" - 19:35

Personnel

• Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, Mellotron, ARP 2600, ARP Pro Soloist, Moog
• Bennie Maupin - Soprano Sax, Bass Clarinet, Piccolo, Afuche, Hum-A-Zoo
• Dr. Eddie Henderson - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
• Julian Priester - Bass trombone, Tenor trombone, Alto Trombone, Cowbell
• Buster Williams - Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass
• Billy Hart - Drums
• Dr. Patrick Gleeson - ARP 2600, ARP Pro Soloist
• Buck Clarke - Percussion

References

External links

• Sextant at Discogs