HERBIE HANCOCK
Sextant (1973)
Track listing
1. "Rain Dance" - 9:16
2. "Hidden Shadows" - 10:11
3. "Hornets" - 19:35
Personnel
* Herbie Hancock - piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D-6 clavinet, mellotron
* 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 and Pro-Soloist
* Buck Clarke - percussion
Amazon.com essential recording
Recorded with the sly, space-funky band that Herbie Hancock formed as Mwandishi (check out the two-CD Warner Bros. collection), Sextant is one of those cornerstone jazz CDs. It ranks with the best early, electric fusion for its fuzzing of textures, always used as bedrock for killer, roomy solos. A troika of horn greats can take much of the credit for the solos: trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, and saxist Bennie Maupin. Each generates great, dense ideas without betraying Hancock's eerie ambience and funky vibe. Yes, this is an aggregation of many 1970s-era ideas: renewed sense of Africanisms (at least in the band's naming), intensified percussive underpinnings, and a heap of rumbly rhythms that give props to everyone in neofunk jazz from Clyde Stubblefield to Funkadelic, albeit in a slowed, methodically rhythmic vein. Hancock's keyboards make fine clouds, as well as slinking shuffles. --Andrew Bartlett
Herbie disbanded his sextet shortly after this recording to form 'Headhunters". Though I'm a big fan of his funk quartet it's a shame that this line of thought wasn't continued. He himself said that there was nowhere else to go with this music and perhaps he's right. However, Sextant stands as a powerful milestone in the post "Bitch's Brew" world. Innovative in just about every respect; instrumentation, composition, use of synthesizers and incredible solos from Herbie and Eddie Henderson et al. Though this is unquestionably avant-garde the earthy (and unearthly) grooves makes it accessible to anyone with an open ear and mind. Though recorded in the early seventies this music is still fresh and futuristic. A wonderful artistic highpoint for Herbie Hancock in a career not lacking in creative highpoints. My highest recommendation!
Track listing
1. "Rain Dance" - 9:16
2. "Hidden Shadows" - 10:11
3. "Hornets" - 19:35
Personnel
* Herbie Hancock - piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D-6 clavinet, mellotron
* 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 and Pro-Soloist
* Buck Clarke - percussion
Amazon.com essential recording
Recorded with the sly, space-funky band that Herbie Hancock formed as Mwandishi (check out the two-CD Warner Bros. collection), Sextant is one of those cornerstone jazz CDs. It ranks with the best early, electric fusion for its fuzzing of textures, always used as bedrock for killer, roomy solos. A troika of horn greats can take much of the credit for the solos: trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, and saxist Bennie Maupin. Each generates great, dense ideas without betraying Hancock's eerie ambience and funky vibe. Yes, this is an aggregation of many 1970s-era ideas: renewed sense of Africanisms (at least in the band's naming), intensified percussive underpinnings, and a heap of rumbly rhythms that give props to everyone in neofunk jazz from Clyde Stubblefield to Funkadelic, albeit in a slowed, methodically rhythmic vein. Hancock's keyboards make fine clouds, as well as slinking shuffles. --Andrew Bartlett
Herbie disbanded his sextet shortly after this recording to form 'Headhunters". Though I'm a big fan of his funk quartet it's a shame that this line of thought wasn't continued. He himself said that there was nowhere else to go with this music and perhaps he's right. However, Sextant stands as a powerful milestone in the post "Bitch's Brew" world. Innovative in just about every respect; instrumentation, composition, use of synthesizers and incredible solos from Herbie and Eddie Henderson et al. Though this is unquestionably avant-garde the earthy (and unearthly) grooves makes it accessible to anyone with an open ear and mind. Though recorded in the early seventies this music is still fresh and futuristic. A wonderful artistic highpoint for Herbie Hancock in a career not lacking in creative highpoints. My highest recommendation!
