''Mwandishi'' is the ninth album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1971. It is the first album to officially feature Hancock’s ‘Mwandishi’ sextet consisting of saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. B ...

, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart.

Background

This album is one of Hancock's first departures from the traditional idioms of jazz, as well as the beginning of an original and creative style which eventually appealed to a wider audience, e.g. in his 1973 album ''

Head Hunters ''Head Hunters'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fu ...

''. In addition, ''Mwandishi'' was Hancock's attempt at continuing the musical principles and styles he explored in his previous experiences with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, e.g. on ''

In A Silent Way ''In a Silent Way'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis, released on July 30, 1969, on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969, at CBS ...

''. Hancock's previous explorations of jazz fusion included ''

Fat Albert Rotunda ''Fat Albert Rotunda'' is the eighth album by jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock, released in 1969. It was Hancock's first release for Warner Bros. Records after his departure from Blue Note Records. The music was originally done for the TV specia ...

'', an album related to the TV special ‘’ Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert’’. ''Mwandishi'' was recorded at

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Je ...

Studio C, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in January 1971, by Hancock's Mwandishi Sextet. The recording incorporated progressive notions of funk, jazz, and rock. The tracks on ''Mwandishi'' include "Ostinato," the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

of which is 15/8, "You'll Know When You Get There," and "Wandering Spirit Song." "Wandering Spirit Song" features Hancock's extensive use of tension and release, in which he builds the tension of the song by crescendos and an increasing number of musical voices, and then releases the tension with long held chords on his synthesizer. ("composer") is the Swahili name Hancock adopted during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The members of the Sextet each adopted a Swahili name: ("player," someone who plays a game) for Buster Williams, ("strong as a rock") for Billy Hart, ("doctor," whose traditional functions include exorcism, prophecy, and the removal of spells) for Eddie Henderson, Mwile ("body", from Swahili ) for Bennie Maupin, ("demon baby") for

, and ("brother") for Leon Chancler.

Release history

''Mwandishi'', along with ''

'' and '' Crossings'', was reissued in one set as ''Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings'' in 1994 and as ''The Warner Bros. Years (1969-1972)'' in 2014.

Track listing

All songs composed by Herbie Hancock except where noted.

Personnel

* Mwandishi / Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes piano * Mchezaji / Buster Williams – bass * Jabali / Billy Hart – drums * Mganga / Eddie Henderson –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, flugelhorn * Mwile / Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet, alto flute, piccolo * Pepo Mtoto / Julian Priester –

tenor trombone A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

, bass trombone ''with'' *

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Leon "Ndugu" Chancler ( ; July 1, 1952 – February 3, 2018) was an American pop, funk, and jazz drummer. He was also a composer, producer, and university professor. Biography Early life Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 1, 1952, Leon ...

– drums and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

on "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)" * José "Chepito" Areas – congas and

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

on "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)" *

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

on "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)"

References

1971 albums Herbie Hancock albums Warner Records albums Albums produced by Dave Rubinson Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios Jazz fusion albums by American artists Concept albums {{1970s-jazz-album-stub