HERBIE HANCOCK — Head Hunters (review)

HERBIE HANCOCK — Head Hunters album cover Album · 1973 · Funk Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
HH’s Mwandishi group not raising sufficient public interest to his eyes, Hancock tossed that project aside and disbanded the formation, keeping only Benny Maupin to from his next group The Head Hunters, which would quickly have a life out of its Hancock back-up group career. Built upon funky bassist Paul Jackson and drummer/percussionist Bill Summers and main drummer Harvey Mason, the group presents an incredibly rhythmic (and African) façade where only Maupin and Hancock are frontmen. Coming with his atrocious fake mask on his face, the artwork has lost the magic of Robert Springett’s incredibly beautiful illustrations for this album.

Opening on the now-famous almost 16-mins collectively-penned Chameleon track, the album announces its funk colour right from the first note, Jackson’s slapped bass line is setting an instant groove and the rest is history. I’m barely exaggerating here, the group settled into their groove and outside a few short escapades; the rest is just expanding, soloing and improvising on the groove. Whatever most people see in this track is grossly exaggerated or else I’m completely missing the point. Compared with his previous works, here Hancock does toy with synthesizers. To close up side A, the group gives a new work out to Hancock’s most beloved 60’s hit, Watermelon Man. A very different version of its older self, it’s probably the album’s most interesting track, one where Maupin shines from head to toe.

The flipside (this sides seems to be more inspired by Miles than the A-side) opens on a 10-minutes Sly Stone homage from Herbie, a great funky expansion where Herbie’s clavinet serves us a guitar-like sound in its groove, Hancock had not found a guitarist and decided to do without one but using that keyboard instead. The closing Vein Melter is anything but close to melting temperature, though: it’s close to cool jazz, strangely bringing us back almost to the 60’s.

By the time the 70’s half decade had passed, many had turned to jazz-funk (as opposed to the earlier jazz-rock) Hancock moving after Weather Report (who’d done so with Mysterious Traveller and Tale Spinin’, but once again Herbie would dare harder and further than either WR or Miles would. Although not being that much a fan of this album, I can only recommend it on pure commercial merits: it was a planet-wide success selling more than a million copies at the time (for jazz, that was phenomenally successful) and is among the top three jazz album saleswise today.

PS: ever notice that this album can be abbreviated to HH’s HH?

Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple vol.3 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple, Vol.1 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikołaj Trzaska / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple Vol.2 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sustain Avant-Garde Jazz
AALY TRIO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sunset Park Post Bop
TOBIAS MEINHART
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

FASCINATING RHYTHM - The Amazing Keystone Big Band feat. Neima Naouri
THE AMAZING KEYSTONE BIG BAND
snobb· 1 day ago
Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Rhoda Scott Ladies and Gentlemen - special guest : David Linx
RHODA SCOTT
snobb· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed