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

Released on March 30, 1973, Sextant was Herbie Hancock's first album on Columbia Records, and the last with his Mwandishi-era group. The album showcased Hancock's early adoption of synthesizers and electronic effects. Upon release, the record was considered to be a commercial flop.

Critical reception

AllMusic called the album a "gem" which features "a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk." 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." The album was called an "uncompromising avant-funk masterpiece" by Paste Magazine.

Track listing

Personnel