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Sextant (album)

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Sextant
Studio album by
Released30 March 1973
Recordedearly 1973
Studio
Genre
Length39:02
LabelColumbia
ProducerDavid Rubinson
Herbie Hancock chronology
Crossings
(1972)
Sextant
(1973)
Head Hunters
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

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.

Background

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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

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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

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All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Rain Dance"9:16
2."Hidden Shadows"10:11
Total length:19:27
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Hornets"19:35
Total length:19:35

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Little, Michael H. "Graded on a Curve: Herbie Hancock, Head Hunters". The Vinyl District. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Jarnow, Jesse. "Herbie Hancock: Cafe Curiosity". Paste. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Scherman, Tony (2011). "Sextant : Herbie Hancock : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b 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.
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