Norman Connors - Dance of Magic (1972)

Recorded with a who's who of fusion titans including trumpeter Eddie Henderson, bassist Stanley Clarke, and keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Dance of Magic channels the lessons drummer Norman Connors learned in the employ of Pharoah Sanders, Sam Rivers, and Sun Ra, marshaling Latin rhythms, electronic textures, and cosmic mysticism to create nondenominational yet deeply spiritual funk-jazz. The sprawling 21-minute title cut spans the entirety of the record's first half, capturing a monumental jam session that explores the outer edges of free improvisation but never steps past the point of no return. Connors' furious drumming is like a trail of bread crumbs that leads his collaborators back home. The remaining three tracks are smaller in scale but no less epic in scope, culminating with the blistering "Give the Drummer Some."

By Jason Ankenny in All Music

Styles:
Fusion
Crossover
Funk-Jazz
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Dance Of Magic (21:00)
02 - Morning Change (06:29)
03 - Blue (10:20)
04 - Give The Drummer Some (02:22)

Line-up:
Norman Connors - Drums
Stanley Clarke - Bass
Cecil McBee - Bass
Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, Electric Piano
Gary Bartz - Alto & Soprano Saxophones
Carlos Garnett - Tenor & Soprano, Saxophones
Art Webb - Flute
Eddie Henderson - Trumpet
Anthony Wiles - Baliphone
Airto Moreira - Percussion
Alphonse Mouzon - Percussion
Anthony Wiles - Percussion
Billy Hart - Percussion

Herbie Hancock - Sextant (1972)

When Herbie Hancock left Warner Bros. in 1971 after releasing three musically sound but critically and commercially underappreciated albums -- The Crossing, Mwandishi, and Fat Albert's Groove -- he was struggling. At odds with a jazz establishment that longed for his return to his Blue Note sound and a fierce consciousness struggle with free music and the full-on embrace of electricity since his tenure with Miles Davis, Hancock was clearly looking for a voice. Before diving into the commercial waters that would become Headhunters in 1973, Hancock and his tough group (including Billy Hart, Julian Priester, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Bennie Maupin, and Buster Williams) cut this gem for their new label, Columbia. Like its Warner predecessors, the album features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk. The three long tracks are exploratory investigations into the nature of how mode and interval can be boiled down into a minimal stew and then extrapolated upon for soloing and "riffing." In fact, in many cases, the interval becomes the riff, as is evidenced by "Rain Dance." The piece that revealed the true funk direction, however, was "Hidden Shadows," with its choppy basslines and heavy percussion -- aided by the inclusion of Dr. Patrick Gleeson and Buck Clarke. Dave Rubinson's production brought Hancock's piano more into line with the rhythm section, allowing for a unified front in the more abstract sections of these tunes. The true masterpiece on the album, though, is "Hornets," an eclectic, electric ride through both the dark modal ambience of Miles' In a Silent Way and post-Coltrane harmonic aesthetics. The groove is in place, but it gets turned inside out by Priester and Maupin on more than one occasion and Hancock just bleats with the synth in sections. Over 19 minutes in length, it can be brutally intense, but is more often than not stunningly beautiful. It provides a glimpse into the music that became Headhunters, but doesn't fully explain it, making this disc, like its Warner predecessors, true and welcome mysteries in Hancock's long career.

by Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Fusion
Avant-Garde
Jazz-Funk

Tracks:
01 - Rain Dance (9:16)
02 - Hidden Shadows (10:11)
03 - Hornets (19:35)

Line-up:
Herbie Hancock - piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D-6 clavinet, mellotron
Bennie Maupin - soprano sax, bass clarinet, piccolo, afuche, hum-a-zoo
Dr. Eddie Henderson - trumpet, flugelhorn
Julian Priester - bass trombone, tenor trombone, alto trombone, cowbell
Buster Williams - electric bass, acoustic bass
Billy Hart - drums
Dr. Patrick Gleeson - ARP 2600 and Pro-Soloist
Buck Clarke - percussion

Pharoah Sanders - Journey to the One (1980)

Formerly a Theresa double LP, this single CD contains all ten of Pharoah Sanders's performances from the sessions. As usual, Sanders shifts between spiritual peace and violent outbursts in his tenor solos. The backup group changes from track to track but often includes pianist John Hicks, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Idris Muhammad. Sanders really recalls his former boss John Coltrane on "After the Rain" (taken as a duet with pianist Joe Bonner) and a romantic "Easy to Remember"; other highpoints include "You've Got to Have Freedom" (which has Bobby McFerrin as one of the background singers) and the exotic "Kazuko" on which Sanders is accompanied by kato, harmonium and wind chimes.

by Scott Yanow at All Music Guide.

Style:
Mainstream Jazz

Tracks:
01 Greetings to Idris
02 Doktor Pitt
03 Kazuko (Peace Child)
04 After the Rain
05 Soledad
06 You've Got to Have Freedom
07 Yemenja
08 It's Easy to Remember
09 Think About the One
10 Bedria

Line-up:
Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone
Joe Bonner - piano
John Hicks - piano
Ray Drummond - bass
Yoko Ito Gates - koto
Eddie Henderson - flugelhorn
Idris Muhammad - drums