Sextant

Sextant

Track Listings

1. A very Large Sail

2. Old Ghost Ship

3. Budd's Boat

4. Sextant

5. The Navigator

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Brian Eno type ambient space music...

Tracks:

Rain Dance
Hidden Shadows
Hornets

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

Customer Reviews:

Free-jazz intro to Headhunters.......2007-07-01

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!

NOT EXACTLY HEADHUNTERS, BUT IT'S A HEADTRIP! .......2007-02-25

This may not be as catchy or accessible as Headhunters, but sextant is up to par with its seminal follow up. The spaced out funk jazz that made Headhunters a classic is on this album. The only difference is that the grooves are pushed to the back in favor of trippy solos and sound bits. Since there are three keyboard players on this album, it's hard to tell who's playing at times.

Since the emphasis is on flexin their musical muscles rather than finding a the perfect groove to work out front, This album is a lot more cerebral than anything Mr. Hands did with the Headhunters. This could be a gift and a curse. The gift is that the Herbie Hancock took a ton of musical chances that made this album one of the closet things to pure jazz he ever done during the fusion era. However, in making an album that's musically rich, it alienated a variety of listeners because the causal music fan will get lost amidst the dizzying array of soundscapes(Hey, everybody don't like music on the same level!).

In any case this is an excellent starting point towards finding his definitive sound with Headhunters.

An Old "Freaky" Favorite That Was an Unfortunate Commercial Flop.......2006-11-19

Sextant is weird and freaky! I love it!

I first heard sextant back in 1976 while driving around and camping the US Northwestern states and in Canada with 2 brothers who were stoned most of the time (they never did grow up). That was the summer I first heard Miles Davis and loudly proclaimed - I will NEVER like this S***! A couple of months later and I was groovin' to all of it. Sextant quickly became a favorite. I was a big King Crimson fan at the time so maybe it was Herbie's use of the mellotrons that roped me in?

Anyway, I just really love the incredible spirit of adventure and creativity found on Sextant. It's not like anything I've ever heard and still isn't. Maybe it's a bit like Miles's "On the Corner," surely Herbie was inspired by that session when he and this group of excellent musicians put this together.

When I picked this up I have to admit that I wasn't that struck hearing it after all these years. In fact at one point the thought of taking it to the used CD store occurred to me. But I've listened to it a couple of more times now and the old magic is back in a new and improved remaster.

Sextant being marketed by Columbia as "classic fusion" (whatever that is). This is not like Weather Report's later recordings (Tale Spinnin' and onwards) or like Return to Forever's stuff with Al Dimeola, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Sextant is way more "out there" than that stuff. If you buy this expecting that sort of "classic fusion" you are going to be disappointed. If you like really creative stuff ala Miles Davis "On the Corner", Zappa's "Bebop Tango" from Roxy and Elsewhere or maybe King Crimson's "Lark's Tongues in Aspic" I think you are going to love this. Just give it a little time and some quality listening :)

Weird! Freaky!

PS If you pick this up and you like it, then consider picking up Herbie Hancock Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros Recordings. That set contains both Mwandishi and Crossings which were created by this same group of musicians and is very similar in spirit.

An inventive and visionary work.......2006-05-21

Even now some 32 years removed from it's original release this recording stands out for it's inventiveness. The precursor to Headhunters. The music hear is inventive, interesting rhythmic, funky, exotic, quirky and clever.

My personal favorite is "Hidden Shadows" It features a dark exotic field to the horn arrangements, funky rhythm and outstanding soloing.

The music hear is a little more abstract than that of "Headhunters" or "Thrust" but not that far off in concept. Yes, those two recordings are more accessible, but this recording is every bit their equals and in may ways better since it is more expansive.

One of the must have recordings in my opinion. An adventurous amalgamation of funk, jazz and R&B elements by one of the modern masters of music.

Props due to Patrick Gleeson.......2006-03-05

A lot of what went on in fusion before it became commercial and popularized was experimentation with sound. Armed with new electronic toys, musicians created all sorts of sonic textures and new tensions. The masters of the genre were Joe Zawinul with Weather Report and Herbie Hancock with the Mwandishi group heard here. This album really takes it up a notch from "Crossings," the first to feature Patrick Gleeson on synthesizers. Here, Gleeson is featured much more prominently, and the textures of sounds he creates are unlike anything heard before and superior to most everything since. On "Crossings," the horn players are spotlighted individually, whereas here it's more of a group sound; though soloing takes place, the horns are more for different colors to offset the synthesizers. The resulting album is one that sounds extremely alien to the listening mainstream, even to those who appreciate jazz. But to those with an open ear and mind, this album features some of the most fascinating sound (even more sound than music) ever documented on record. A lot of early fusion like this is searching that takes place on record, and though the searching itself can be difficult to listen to, there are some fantastic moments buried within the extended tracks. My favorite track here is "Hidden Shadows," a very funky (though in a different way) jam in something like 19/8 time. But the other two tracks are fascinating as well. What happened as fusion progressed is a streamlining, taking the gems found in the searching and dispensing with the more difficult, tense sections which lead into the gems. While there is some great later fusion, it never matches the spontaneity found on albums like this.

My suggestion if this description sounds at all interesting: buy some of Hancock's material for Blue Note, like "Empyrean Isles," "Speak Like a Child," and "The Prisoner" which document his more adventurous early work, then check out "Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings" which led up to this album. If you like it, you'll get caught up in wanting to see where Hancock's music goes next. Herbie Hancock was and is one of jazz's most progressive musicians, and it is vital to understand the various stages of his development. He's one of those figures much like Miles Davis (with whom he worked for the second half of the 60s...THAT is some magnificent music) who has been a barometer for where jazz is going at all times, seeing as how he's one of the artists taking it in new directions. Thus, the music changes a lot over time, though the impeccable musicianship remains a constant. This album is difficult but worthwhile to learn to appreciate.

Average customer rating:

You really don't need this, casual buyer
there are those albums...
pavement
Great album for Pavement fans... Of BOTH types of Pavement
It has Box Elder on it... That's the only reason you need

Westing (By Musket and Sextant)
Pavement
Manufacturer: Drag City
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Indie & Lo Fi | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement
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ASIN: B0000019PI
Release Date: 1993-03-30

Tracks:

You're Killing Me
Box Elder
Maybe Maybe
She Believes
Price Yeah!
Forklift
Spizzle Trunk
Recorder Grot
Internal K-Dart
Perfect Depth
Recorder Grot (Rally)
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Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent
Drive By Fader
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Home
Krell Vid-User
Summer Babe (Winter Version)
Mercy: The Laundromat
Baptist Blacktick
My First Mine
My Radio

Amazon.com essential recording

Warning: This collection is not for fans of high-fidelity music. Pavement's early days were marred by murk; call it the limitation of the early days of any band, but nobody in the early '90s wanted this sound. Pavement seized it, wrapped it up in enigmatic packages, and soon a cult following was born. Westing (by Musket and Sextant) captures several early 7-inches and EPs for a look back at Pavement's gestation. All the essential elements are here, from Stephen Malkmus's beyond-bebop lyricism to white-heat guitars that sound like they're coming from the dark side of an Edison cylinder. Anyone swayed by the last couple of Pavement albums may not enjoy this collection unless they also appreciate edgy acts like the Fall and Swell Maps. It sounds quite tinny and one may wonder if there's anything on Westing that resembles a radio-ready hit. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? --Jason Josephes

Customer Reviews:

You really don't need this, casual buyer.......2006-11-22

...but if you are a big enough fan to be a completist, why the heck not, if you want to hear your fave band's demos and snippets of practice sessions, go 'head. Out of the thirty or so songs on this album, only maybe five are fully fleshed out, the rest is just Pavement f'ing around.

Let me be clear-Pavement was a really cool and fun band, but this is not meant to be casually enjoyed. I mean, if you think this music speaks to you or describes anything around you, you are likely in need of shock therapy. Or you're 19 and don't know any better yet. This is coming from someone who thinks "Sister Ray" is one of the greatest songs ever made. Some noise is brilliant. Some noise is just noise.

there are those albums..........2006-04-29

there are those albums that you listen to, say what the??? and they sit for a year or two. then you revisit them and find a lost treasure. this is one of those albums. i bought this little gem when it first came out, loved a couple of songs and basically shelved it for 2 or so years. grabbed it for a road trip and fell in love . this album, in some cynical produced unproduced way, captures the insanity that is pavement live. go see stephen malkmus... he's still making the rounds and gives me faith that some where great music is still being made... this album ist rad from start to finish. pop it in yer ipod and walk around the city watching people for a few hours.... just make sure it's loud... ...

pavement.......2006-04-12

in my opinion this album is worth it for one reason alone. 23 songs in 47 minutes, it may not have the majesty of the fine albums to follow, which ever be your favorite, but it showcases pavement in the early nineties, its beautiful on vinyl and not much more than the cd , well worth owning

Great album for Pavement fans... Of BOTH types of Pavement.......2006-03-01

I've read many reviews about this album (showing my age with that word) stating that its a great album for those who like Slanted and Enchanted, but those who like albums like Wowee Zowee or anything else, will hate it. That cant be further from the truth. Here's the deal. Like most good bands, Pavement grew. They started with a pretty indie/punk sound (which is great) that turned into the amazing Slanted and Enchanted. With that being said, this is the roots of that sound. Very raw, indie recordings that are uptempo and very fun. I love later Pavement albums, and I love this album. If you like the bands full catalog, not just Terror Twilight/Brighten the Corners, then you'll love this album. Get it! The good bands dont sound the same on every album, Pavement included. Yet, there ALL great. Just different. You dont get a completely complex album like Wowee Zowee, without having some roots. These are those roots. Enjoy! I do.

It has Box Elder on it... That's the only reason you need.......2006-01-14

Worth it for Box Elder alone. Otherwise, Westing is mostly a mixed bag of old home recordings by the band that would soon fully blossom into Slanted & Enchanted.

Average customer rating:

Of sea and stars

Sextant
Ashera & Brannan Lane
Manufacturer: Ashera / Brannanlane.com Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Relaxation | New Age | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000D8D05
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Tracks:

A very Large Sail
Old Ghost Ship
Budd's Boat
Sextant
The Navigator

Album Description

Brian Eno type ambient space music...

Customer Reviews:

Of sea and stars.......2006-01-12

I'm a bit new to the ambient genre, but I think this is a great album to start a collection. The music is very evocative; while listening I couldn't help but envision the wind rattling against the mainsail, bracing oneself against the rise and fall of massive waves, and thick mist covering a calm ocean. And isolation. The term "space music" also applies really well, as it's very atmospheric. I'm somewhat unfamiliar with the works of Brannan Lane, but I know the works of Ashera better, and it's unfortunate that none of his other albums are found on Amazon. Sextant is a bit more dark in ambience when compared to the warm, ethereal album "Enviro" by Ashera, which I highly recommend. Sextant is very rewarding.

Update - 'Sextant' is a masterpiece.

Average customer rating:

Elvis Was Bigger Then the Beatles
Supergarage
Manufacturer: Sextant
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Power Pop | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00008DY94
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Tracks:

Sugar
Pop Pop Radio
2nd Try
Texas Charm
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
I'm a Rockstar, Watch My Video, Buy My Records, Make Me Famous
All We Need Is Detroit Rock 'N' Roll
Pulling Out a Win
Once It Starts It Starts
Sometimes a Man's Gotta Do What a Man's Gotta Do (Too Late)
America, U.S.A., O.K., Alright
Here Comes the Flood

Average customer rating:

A lovely celtic Christmas album

Gift
The Irish Descendants
Manufacturer: Sextant
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Celtic | International | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
ASIN: B00007H03A

Customer Reviews:

A lovely celtic Christmas album.......2004-11-22

If you are looking for some not-so-traditional Christmas songs, this album fits the bill. The Irish Descendants sing good rich harmonies on traditional carols, and Con O'Brien's voice is strong and true on the lead vocals. They mix up the accompaniments with some celtic tunes as counter-melodies, with guitars, accordions, bouzoukis, mandolins, whistles and other accoustic instruments. It's a very refreshing and relaxing sound.

Tracks:

Chameleon
Watermelon Man
Sly
Vein Melter

Tracks:

Rain Dance
Hidden Shadows
Hornets

Tracks:

Palm Grease
Actual Proof
Butterfly
Spank-A-Lee

Average customer rating:

Bloodshot

Manufacturer: Sextant/EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006JCMQ
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Tracks:

Sirens
Candi Divine
Make it Happen
Euphoria
Exposed
The Haunting
Misery
Aphrodite
Jamie
Pretending
Thinking of Me Thinking of You
Transparency

Product Description

Featuring the hit songs "Candi Divine" (#1 on MP3 in the U.K.) and "The Haunting" (from the feature film 'Insight of Evil'). Hard rock guitars with female vox and pop melodies are combined with flavours of Goth/Punk & New Wave. Produced by Jamie Stewart (The Cult) & Mike Hanson (Glass Tiger) gives the album a cool diverse sound and keeps the listener engaged the whole way through. Ripped show influences by Garbage, Blondie, No Doubt, Pixies and Breeders.

Average customer rating:

The Robert Blears Band

Manufacturer: Sextant Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000FAC15W

Product Description

This album contains 12 tracks.

Average customer rating:

You really don't need this, casual buyer
there are those albums...
pavement
Great album for Pavement fans... Of BOTH types of Pavement
It has Box Elder on it... That's the only reason you need

Westing (By Musket And Sextant)
Pavement
Manufacturer: Big Cat
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement
Sister
Bad Moon Rising
Spit On A Stranger [EP]
Shady Lane

ASIN: B000025M97

Customer Reviews:

You really don't need this, casual buyer.......2006-11-22

there are those albums..........2006-04-29

pavement.......2006-04-12

Great album for Pavement fans... Of BOTH types of Pavement.......2006-03-01

It has Box Elder on it... That's the only reason you need.......2006-01-14

Worth it for Box Elder alone. Otherwise, Westing is mostly a mixed bag of old home recordings by the band that would soon fully blossom into Slanted & Enchanted.

Average customer rating:

Notes from the synth player...

Sextant
Herbie Hancock
Manufacturer: Columbia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Jazz Funk | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music

R&B | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000268DZ

Tracks:

Rain Dance
Hidden Shadows
Hornets

Album Details

20bit digitally remastered.

Customer Reviews:

Notes from the synth player..........2005-07-06

This is a wonderful album--musically adventurous and still fresh today. Note that this isn't necessarily an impartial review--I'm the synth player on the album, the second of the two albums Herbie recorded when I was a bandmember. However, I would rate the previous album, Crossings, even a little higher. It's not quite as electronic and not quite as funky, but the writing is probably a little more ambitious (not that Sextant dumbed anything down--it didn't), and it's a beautiful statement of the cross-currents: modal jazz that goes back to Miles' Kind of Blue, afrocentric jazz (the kind of repetitive/trancelike African-influenced beats that were being explored in "legit" music by Steve Reich around this same time), and electronic jazz, which was recorded on Crossings for the first time (although, as I remember, Weather Report's I Sing the Body Electric, with Arp 2500 electronics by Roger Powell, hit retail first). That's another great fusion album by the way--hope it's still in print.

One thing that's just beginning to be realized, I think, is that the period from the late 60's through early 70's was jazz's equivalent of The Elizabethan Age--a short period of time where the milieu, the technology, the audience and the players all reached a level of acceptance and understanding that allowed jazz to flourish both artistically and commercially. Bebop was wonderful, but the audience was limited to a cultural avantegarde and the jazz that came after this record, although interesting, was never, I think, as confidentally experimental. Too bad.
But, again, the analogy with Elizabethan drama holds true: art movements come from nowhere or for no single clear reason and then when it seems that its just going to get better and better, its over. And the music can't ever go there again. For one thing, if an artist sent an album like Sextant to a major label's A&R head today he (or she) would be lucky if the record were even turned down--it'd probably just be ignored as something so obviously uncommercial as not to require actual consideration. So get this album and treasure this music--this is all the music like this you're ever going to get!

Patrick Gleeson (patrickgleeson.com)

Music:

Music

music

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