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This is a cool discovery! Until now I had not heard anything by Herbie Hancock between early 1969's "In a Silent Way," which was his last recording with Miles, and his breakthrough "Head Hunters," recorded in Fall 1973, which was the beginning of his jazz/funk fusion period.What we have in this album recorded in February 1972 is a diverse exploration of African-sounding percussion and electric jazz. All the musicians had adopted African names -- Mwandishi Herbie Hancock, Mwile Bernie Maupin, and so on. Side One of the original vinyl was Hancock's "Sleeping Giant" (24:50), a fascinating suite that moves through several disparate sections after starting with percussion polyrhythms. There is a funky section that anticipates the embrace of Sly Stone-influenced funk in the next phase, and spacy sections that echo the trips of the fading psychedelic era. The title clearly refers to Africa."Side Two" is two shorter pieces, both by Bernie Maupin -- "Quasar" and "Water Torture." Maupin's reeds are an essential part of the sound, along with Hancock's electric piano. And Patrick Gleason appears on Moog synthesizer, contributing to the "outer space" sections.The rest of the band is Jabali Billy Hart on drums, Mchezaji Buster Williams on bass, Swahile Eddie Henderson on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Pepo Mtoto Julian Priester on trombone and bass. All also play percussion."Crossings" sounds great and gets better the more I listen to it. The disparate strands cohere and the original vision shines through!