It is the first album to officially feature Hancock’s ‘Mwandishi’ sextet consisting of reed player Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart.

This album is one of Hancock's first departures from the traditional idioms of jazz, as well as the beginning of an original and creative style which eventually appealed to a wider audience.

In addition, Mwandishi was Hancock's attempt at continuing the musical principles and styles he explored in his previous experiences with Miles Davis (on the album In A Silent Way, for instance).

The tracks on Mwandishi include "Ostinato," the time signature of which is 15/8, "You'll Know When You Get There," and "Wandering Spirit Song."

The members of the Sextet each adopted a Swahili name: Mchezaji ("player," someone who plays a game) for Buster Williams, Jabali ("strong as a rock") for Billy Hart, Mganga ("doctor," whose traditional functions include exorcism, prophecy, and the removal of spells) for Eddie Henderson, Mwile ("body", from Swahili mwili) for Bennie Maupin, Pepo Mtoto ("demon baby") for Julian Priester, and Ndugu ("brother") for Leon Chancler.