The Headhunters

Sobre

The Headhunters represented a major turning point for <a href="spotify:artist:2ZvrvbQNrHKwjT7qfGFFUW">Herbie Hancock</a>, whose approach to fusion became slicker and more commercial (though not without substance or integrity) with the formation of this popular band in 1973. Before that, the chameleonic pianist/keyboardist had been leading a daring unit called the Sextant, which fused jazz, R&B, and rock with world music and took more than its share of chances. But regrettably, the Sextant's three albums for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Bros%22">Warner Bros</a>. were modest sellers at best, so in 1973, he disbanded the Sextant and formed the Headhunters. Employing saxman/clarinetist <a href="spotify:artist:2mv4xHxofvyWTp2ViBqgZb">Bennie Maupin</a> (a holdover from the Sextant), bassist <a href="spotify:artist:7gsPbGDWVe9eSVwI1ZZpnP">Paul Jackson, Jr</a>., drummer Harvey Mason, and percussionist <a href="spotify:artist:4jfExfOYzFuC4YkwHFSgiG">Bill Summers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5oG43PcdMP08xchofXSShy">Hancock</a> made a point of being more accessible when he unveiled the Headhunters with his 1973 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> date Head Hunters. Fusing jazz with funk and rock, the album sold over a million copies and attracted many R&B and rock fans. In fact, Head Hunters even outsold <a href="spotify:artist:0kbYTNQb4Pb1rPbbaF0pT4">Miles Davis</a>' popular Bitches Brew. Defined by the catchy "Chameleon" (which was interpreted by jazz singer <a href="spotify:artist:4GDOPUTIg2XgWCnK3spR3B">Eddie Jefferson</a> in 1976 and sampled by various rappers in the '80s and '90s) and a funky remake of his 1962 boogaloo "Watermelon Man," Headhunters set the tone for subsequent <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> projects with the Headhunters, including Thrust (1974), Man-Child (1975), Secrets (1976), and Sunlight (1977). By the end of the decade, the Headhunters were no more, and <a href="spotify:artist:5oG43PcdMP08xchofXSShy">Hancock</a> was turning his attention to everything from outright R&B to standards and acoustic post-bop. In the '90s, Sony's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Legacy%22">Legacy</a> label reissued most of the Headhunters' work on CD, and in 1998 the group reunited to record Return of the Headhunters! ~ Alex Henderson