Crate Digger’s Gold” Herbie Hancock – Sextant

This 1973 release is under the strong influence of Miles’ Bitches Brew.  By this point the sound had been perfected by the Miles alum.  This was Herbie’s first album for Columbia after a short stay with Warner Brothers.  Over three albums at Warner Brothers Herbie had taken his electric sound from accessible funk to an “out there” sound – almost the electric jazz version of free or avant-garde jazz.

This release was even more free with just a touch of the funk of the previous three albums.  Evidently the poor sales of this album inspired Herbie to go mainstream with his next album, the legendary Headhunters.

As much as I love Headhunters it is refreshing to see how wild Herbie could be.  This album is not for everyone, but if you love Headhunters, but are slightly burned out by its accessibility, give this album a spin.  Herbie has a wall of keyboards and uses their many tones artfully and not gimmicky.  The other players are all extraordinary instrumentalists.   Fans of challenging electronica and dub-step may find this album appealing.