SEXTANT

While Europe is the motherland of prog and has given us many classic albums both prog and other genres of rock music, the American side of prog has pretty big shoes to fill While yes we have Zappa, Kansas and even Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock was always a personal favorite of mine and this album is a must not just for jazz but prog as well and is an essential album. Europe gave us Gong, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind however in the west a piano player known as Herbie Hancock would leave his bop leanings and move into the direction of fusion in the 70s and giving us classic prog fusion albums however Sextant would be not a traditional album for Hancock and would go into a space rock(minus the rock part) inspired direction Is and encapsulates everything about afro futurism, leaving an album with incredible space soundscapes that could compete with the likes of The Dark Side Of The Moon, Warrior On The Edge Of Time and You. The album opens with the track Rain Dance, electronics greet you while the horns help shape the atmosphere. Hidden Shadows is the second track and has a Is beautiful mellatron that moves in and out of the song, something that's kinda rare to see in jazz. The third and final track is a 20 minute epic filled with electronics, horns and multiple kazoo solos. There's really no album like this, if you want a jazzy twist on space rock then give this album your attention