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	March 30, 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 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 Magazine.^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock.

Side one

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

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