The 1971 entry point into Herbie Hancock's celebrated Mwandishi trilogy, returning here on vinyl. Mwandishi opens what would become the most adventurous and freely exploratory chapter of Hancock's discography, the first record to officially document the sextet that the pianist would shape into one of the great working bands of early seventies jazz.
Recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1970 and released in March 1971 on Warner Bros, the album marked Hancock's decisive step away from post-bop into spacier, longer-form territory. The line-up, gathered through 1970 and brought into a single session, drew together a remarkable ensemble of players, each of whom adopted a Swahili name for the project: Mwandishi (composer) for Hancock himself on Fender Rhodes, Mchezaji (the player) for Buster Williams on bass, Jabali (strength) for Billy Hart on drums, Mganga (doctor) for Eddie Henderson on trumpet and flugelhorn, Mwile (body) for Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo, and Pepo Mtoto (spirit child) for Julian Priester on tenor and bass trombone.
Across three extended pieces, the record extends the electric, suspended-time language Hancock had absorbed from Miles Davis's In A Silent Way into a territory of its own. "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)", dedicated to Angela Davis, rides a 15/4 vamp and is augmented by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler on second drums, José "Chepito" Areas (Santana) on congas and timbales, and a young Ronnie Montrose on guitar. "You'll Know When You Get There" floats on ethereal Rhodes voicings and chamber-like horn arrangements; the twenty-one minute "Wandering Spirit Song", written by Priester, unfolds from elegiac restraint into collective free playing.
Produced by David Rubinson and engineered by Fred Catero, Mwandishi was followed by Crossings (1972) and Sextant (1973), completing the trilogy that Pat Metheny, among many others, has long held as one of the touchstones of post-Bitches Brew jazz. Its commercial reach at the time was modest, but its reputation has only grown.
