Sextant

As the final statement from the Mwandishi sextet, 'Sextant' dives deeper into avant-garde electronic abstraction and texture. Hancock's array of synthesizers, including the ARP and Moog, blends with the ensemble's acoustic post-bop vocabulary to create dense, atmospheric soundscapes that trace the edges of avant-funk. Comprising three extended compositions, the album layers free-form horn improvisations over percolating electronic effects and complex rhythms, creating a cosmic jazz-funk that, while commercially unsuccessful upon release, is retrospectively seen as a landmark of electronic jazz and a precursor to ambient music.