Magnificent Albums #03 - Head Hunters//////Herbie Hancock (1973)
Hello guys, welcome to the third edition of Magnificent Albums!
Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite musicians of all-time: the one and only Herbie Hancock!
Herbie Hancock (in this wonderful picture below, omg the 80's) was born in Chicago, IL in 1940.
He started his career on jazz backin' up the legendary Donald Byrd, but his breakout happened in Miles Davis' second quintet, that he joined on late-spring 1963. (trivia: Miles' second quintet is considered by many the best jazz quintet ever)
(Miles Davis' second quintet in 1967)
Shortly after his departure from the group, Herbie started to become interested in other genres other than jazz, especially funk, and jazz musicians were experimenting more and more in this new genre called fusion. Many agree that Miles' '69 album, In a Silent Way, was the seminal piece to this genre.
But let's talk about Head Hunters. HH was the debut of Herbie's new group, also called Head Hunters, and it was formed by Harvey Mason on drums, Paul Jackson on bass, Bill Summers on percussion and Bernie Maupin on sax. The album was the group attempt to fuse Jazz, Funk and Rock in a more accessible way to the listener.
The album opens with the now classic bassline from Chameleon, a 15-minute funk jam that was composed for your brain and your booty. Then the album follows to Watermelon Man, a composition from Herbie's 1962 album Takin' Off, that was remade into a funky statement.
B-side starts with Sly, a very percussive and upbeat song and the album closes with the density of Vein Melter, a deep and low psych-jazz jam.
And with this 4 tracks, Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters gave birth to a new genre: the Jazz-Funk.
Listen and enjoy:
And here are the Head Hunters (with Mike Clark substituting Harvey Mason on drums) playing on Germany in 1974:
My other texts from the Magnificent Albums series:
https://steemit.com/music/@themusiclover/magnificent-albums-01-back-to-black-amy-winehouse-2006
https://steemit.com/music/@themusiclover/magnificent-albums-02-maggot-brain-funkadelic-1971
Follow me for great music content!
That may very well be the coolest cover art I've ever seen. Hot diggity damn.
Yeah man, those guys were the coolest motherfuckers to ever walk this earth!
A classic ! Was mesmerized when i first heard it :)
Man, I can remember clearly! This album changed by life!