Sextant

Listener beware: this is not your ordinary music fare. I was astonished by Hancock's "Thrust" and "Headhunters" super funk type albums (yes, they were new albums when I was in high school), so I saw this in the racks with the great artwork and thought, "this will be really good". But when I took it home and listened to it I couldn't believe my ears. What am I listening to !? It was totally foriegn to me. Beyond comphrehension. I am SOO GLAD I gave it several listenings. This was a rosetta stone that opened up unknown worlds to me, musically, culturally, and just general thought development. I soon discovered Miles in his electronic period after picking up this album. This "Sextet" group is probably my favorite Hancock period. "Sextant" is part of a very short, underfunded, non-comercial period of electronic experimentation in jazz that only a handfull ventured to. Different than Mahavishnu and Return To Forever's type. Different than Weather Report. This is earthy and abstract, rooted in the ground and exploring the cosmos. Similar albums include "Mwandishi" & "Crossings" by Hancock, and Julian Priester's "Love, Love" (excellent work!). To a more "accessable" pop extent is Eddie Henderson's "Sunburst" and quieter is Bennie Maupin's "Jewel In The Lotus".. . .oh, yeah, "Survival Of The Fittest" by the Headhunters can get tossed in this ring as well, however it is of the more accessable leanings, and I think that's about it! What, four or six albums ? How rare is this music? It was incredable, but it didn't "hit", so the artists moved on. The public wasn't ready for this music when it was heard. Are you?

Just a quick note to let you know that this is the exact same issue as the 1998 Sony domestic release which is apprently OOP and the cheapest used copy here on Amazon is going for $18+. Sony just put a sticker with a different barcode on the outside of the jewel case over the old bar code. This is apparently how cut-outs are done now.

You know what? If you can overlook the unneeded synthesizer dribblings all over the place, this isn't half bad. Sure, Patrick Gleeson's ARP 2000 deserves to be smashed up (the last four or five minutes of "Rain Dance" - otherwise a good, haunting composition - are devoted to his aimless ramblings on that monstrosity), but everyone else does fine here, as evidenced on the dark, twisted funk of "Hidden Shadows", which milks the B*tches Brew vibe for all of its worth. Here's another breakage of tradition: The worst song is the long experimental tour de force thingy. "Hornets" isn't bad by any means, but it's got too much ARP 2000 and a buzzing part that sounds too much like a kazoo (and not enough like a hornet). And there aren't really any changes in it, so it kind of gets dull after too long. The flugelhorn part is fantastic, though. It's just longwinded and sometimes irritating, that's all. So there's not a single bad song on this album - even "Hornets" has its moments - just a bit too much Patrick Gleeson. That's all.

I was absolutely floored by this 1973 album - the experimental nature of the music truly took me by surprise. Although Sextant is very much a jazz rock album, there is also a lot of experimentation with synthesizers (ARP 200 and Pro Soloist) and other instruments that takes this music well beyond the realm of jazz rock and into...well, outer space. It actually sounds a lot like the incredible material that Miles Davis was churning out in the 1970-1972 timeframe, yet with more synthesizer freak outs. As a progressive rock and electronica fan, this is hands down my favorite of the few albums I have by Herbie, although Thrust (1974) is excellent in spite of it being more "traditional" jazz rock.

There is a large ensemble on this album including Herbie Hancock (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner D-6 clavinet with Fuzz-wah and echoplex; Dakha-di-bello, mellotron; Steinway piano; hand clap); Dr. Patrick Gleeson (ARP 2600; and ARP Pro Soloist synthesizers); Buster Williams (electric bass guitar with wah-wah and fuzz effects; acoustic bass); Billy Hart (drums and percussion); Dr. Eddie Henderson (trumpet; flugelhorn); Bennie Maupin (soprano saxophone; bass clarinet; piccolo); Julian Priester (bass trombone; tenor trombone; alto trombone); and Buck Clarke (congas; bongos).

The playing on this album is excellent - a few of these guys were Miles Davis alumni and it shows. I guess it is worth noting that the emphasis is more on ensemble work and the few solos on the album are brief and generally obscured by a dense wall of sound - with the exception of Herbie's excellent piano solo on Hidden Shadows. The rhythm section appears to have taken their cues from the rhythm section of Miles Davis' band during the Live-Evil - On the Corner (1971- 1972) phase of his career, along with a nod in the direction of minimalist composers like Terry Riley. The one thing that I really enjoy about the instrumentation on Sextant is the use of synthesizers (courtesy of innovator Pat Gleeson) and especially the mellotron. The use of the mellotron on an album of jazz rock at this time was unusual - although German jazz rock band Passport used the mellotron on their Handmade album (1973) - especially given that Herbie uses it fairly liberally on Hidden Shadows, rather than using it as a splash of tone color.

The three tracks on the album are long and range in length from 9:16 to the epic 19:35 Hornets. In large part, the pieces consist of lengthy and spacey jams built around a few head themes and pre-composed parts. The playing is very loose and open with a rock solid and unwavering rhythm section, which is a departure from a great deal of jazz rock in the early-mid 1970s. The first track is the most experimental of the three and at points simply dissolves into nothing but a mass of bleeps and blurbs generated on the ARP 2600. The second track is a personal favorite and is fairly spacey, with nice pads on the mellotron (with the string setting). There are a few funky moments on Hornets, which is a dense and swirling jam that features some nice Miles Davis - like trumpet playing and ARP 2600 sound-effects. Again, this lengthy track is pretty much "out there" and gets fairly chaotic at points.

This remastered album is nice and features the original cover art along with some detailed liner notes along with some black and white photos of the band. Speaking of the cover art, I could have sworn that the artist was the same person who painted the covers for Bitches Brew (Miles Davis, 1970) and Live Evil (Miles Davis, 1971) but this is not the case. The sound quality is excellent.

All in all, this is an incredible album of highly experimental jazz rock that is recommended along with Crossings (1971) and a few albums by Miles Davis including Bitches Brew, Live Evil, Jack Johnson (1971), and On the Corner.

Herbie Hancock does some exploring in "Sextant", and I'm pretty glad he did. "Rain Dance" opens with some strange ARP-2600 sounds, but eventually becomes a good free jazz song. While Herbie and the guys are playing free, they're not completely in outer space. Eddie Henderson's trumpet reminds me of Miles Davis. This type of playing is Bennie Maupin's strong suite, and former Sun Ra sideman Julian Priester is also very good. Some of the electronic bleeps and blips sound a little silly, but they haven't dated too badly. The only reason I give this 4 instead of 5 is that "Hornets" has a dead spot in the middle of it. I recommend this CD!