50 years ago today... Head Hunters

[zephonic]

Herbie Hancock's all-time masterpiece "Head Hunters" was released on October 26, 1973.

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_Hunters

https://thegrio.com/2023/10/26/the-future-of-fusion-is-funk-50-years-of-herbie-hancocks-head-hunters/

 

 

It's hard to overstate how this album changed my life. It echoes on in every sound I create.

 

That is true for pretty much all of Herbie's 1970's output, Thrust, Man-Child, Secrets, Sunlight, and even Feet Don't Fail Me Now.

 

But it all started with Head Hunters for me, and my life has been better for it.

 

Thank you, Herbie!

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

I don't have a definite date but I saw Herbie and his band around this time, they were touring and made a stop in Fresno. 

Overall a GREAT show but it appeared that the guitarist was so high that he could barely stand up and it also appeared that Herbie was pretty pissed off about that. 

[CyberGene]

The Chameleon Rhodes solo is the best Rhodes solo ever ❤️
 

In case you care, the transcription author has messed up the chords: Note: Every D7sus should say Db7sus

[jejefunkyman]

Masterpiece 🙏😁!!

[ProfD]

Herbie Hancock gave birth to funky Jazz wirh that record.

 

Like the rest of Herbie's musical output, the world of music is a better place because of him.

 

Keep giving that man his flowers while he's still here with us. Mr. Herbie Hancock. Living legend.😎

[16251]

I'm sad to say when Head Hunters came out I was not aware of Herbie. It wasn't until Thrust came out and I was starting college that I was hipped to him along with Chick. I love watching the live videos of this period.

[Ivan May]

My favorite tracks are Chameleon and Watermelon Man. I always liked Herbie Hancock’s Fender Rhodes and ARP Odyssey usage on those seventies recordings, he was one of the first jazz musicians to use electric keyboards on his albums. The second side is too “progressive “ sounding for my tastes, but Harvey Mason’s drumming is also explosive playing.

[Reezekeys]

This followed the three records from his "Mwandishi" group so was quite a change - from the avant garde electronica of that band to straight up funk. This was the era of "fusion" jazz with Mahavishnu and Return To Forever, which was much more rock oriented. I remember I was in Boston in my first year of college and this record hit me like a lightning bolt. I was already into funk as much as jazz, and hearing one of my piano heros doing it, and achieving success in the pop music world, was a kind of validation.

 

Who here has played Chameleon with the bar of 7/8 followed by three bars of 3/4? 🙂 

 

 

[eric]

I love all of Herbie's music, particularly Headhunters, Thrust, and Fat Albert Rotunda. I can get lost in the music. One of my very early experiences, as cliche as it sounds, was playing Chameleon in HS jazz band, early-mid '80s.

[BenWaB3]

I was lucky enough to see him when he was breaking this album. I lived on Long Island at the time and he played a club on the North shore called My Father's Place in Roslyn. Got to see him twice that week. They also did some stuff from the Thrust album, namely Actual Proof. Like Eric, I really like that period, including Fat Albert Rotunda, which was before his Mwandishi phase. Love the Rhodes sound he was getting at that time!

[confidence]

Quote

In case you care, the transcription author has messed up the chords: Note: Every D7sus should say Db7sus

Eb7sus, isn't it?

[zephonic]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

 

Who here has played Chameleon with the bar of 7/8 followed by three bars of 3/4? 🙂 

 

 

 

Tried and failed! I didn’t figure out it was 7/8 until much later, always thought it was an anticipated downbeat, like the 16th note before the one. Messed me up until someone finally pointed it out to me.

 

 

[CyberGene]

36 minutes ago, confidence said:

Eb7sus, isn't it?

 

I don't think so. The main theme is Bbm7 - Eb7, however the Rhodes solo replaces the Eb7 with Db7sus (with a few exceptions here and there).

[David Emm]

I'm one of the fortunate who got to see him live at this point. I was rightfully astounded by his playing, but also the synth side. I'd been wallowing in Moogs for quite a while. The ARPs were a new experience for me. His touch seemed like a natural for their florid tones. I saw the band in a proper hall and they were all smiling, so it was one of their more "up" nights. Definitely a landmark moment on my synth journey.

[SteveCoscia]

I listened to Head Hunters album again today - haven't played it in a while.  Still sounds great.

 

One thing that stood out about the Chameleon Rhodes solo is how much it sounded like Max Middleton's playing on JB's Blow By Blow album, which came out two years later.  I wondered about whether Herbie inspired and influenced Max Middleton's playing during that time.  Some of the phrasing and accents sounded similar.

[cedar]

"Chameleon" is not only great, but taught me a lesson about humility.

 

I was 10 when Headhunters came out.  Within a few years, I was a straight-ahead snob. Loved Herbie on everything he touched in the 1960s.  But didn't give Headhunters or Thrust a real listening for years because I stupidly assumed it was just some commercial nonsense. 

 

This attitude was reinforced when middle school and high school classmates called Chameleon at jam sessions (without ever playing hip middle section).  Just seemed to me kind of a boring funk tune.  

 

It wasn't until after college that I bothered to listen to the original version, and was then blown away by the Rhodes solo.  Couldn't believe how many years of enjoyable listening I missed because I had been such a snob.

[BenWaB3]

39 minutes ago, cedar said:

"Chameleon" is not only great, but taught me a lesson about humility.

 

I was 10 when Headhunters came out.  Within a few years, I was a straight-ahead snob. Loved Herbie on everything he touched in the 1960s.  But didn't give Headhunters or Thrust a real listening for years because I stupidly assumed it was just some commercial nonsense. 

 

This attitude was reinforced when middle school and high school classmates called Chameleon at jam sessions (without ever playing hip middle section).  Just seemed to me kind of a boring funk tune.  

 

It wasn't until after college that I bothered to listen to the original version, and was then blown away by the Rhodes solo.  Couldn't believe how many years of enjoyable listening I missed because I had been such a snob.

Yeah, even to this day if people call it out in a jam session or “casual “ job they just play the first section. Probably just as well in my case since I’d totally pooch the second section 😉

[CyberGene]

And here’s (IMO the second greatest Rhodes solo after Chameleon) the Butterfly solo:

Starts at 4:30. Unfortunately no transcription online. It’s also my favorite Rhodes sound. I think there’s a “Butterfly Rhodes” preset in Scarbee that approaches it very well.

 

I think there are many great Rhodes players that were influenced by Herbie’s Rhodes style of soloing. And he came up with it all by himself since I’m not aware of any Rhodes player around that time that sounded even remotely similar, many approached it like an acoustic piano. Absolute genius! But I’m biased 😉

[jerrythek]

On 10/27/2023 at 1:15 AM, KuruPrionz said:

I don't have a definite date but I saw Herbie and his band around this time, they were touring and made a stop in Fresno. 

Overall a GREAT show but it appeared that the guitarist was so high that he could barely stand up and it also appeared that Herbie was pretty pissed off about that. 

I would think it would have been a little later, as he didn’t start using guitars until around Man Child. 

[CyberGene]

6 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

All that other funk bs was the record company profit machine, which did a good job.

As someone else above mentioned, I also used to skip on the funk part (not just Chameleon, all other funk/pop output from Herbie). In particular, I would fast forward Chameleon to the Rhodes solo 😀 Nowadays I listen much less to jazz, mostly to my core favorite artists such as Herbie, Chick, Miles, and less frequently, so I occasionally run entire records, including the funk/crossover/disco stuff by Herbie and it’s OK, I’m not annoyed. Not too enamored either. 

[KuruPrionz]

17 hours ago, jerrythek said:

I would think it would have been a little later, as he didn’t start using guitars until around Man Child. 

And you could very well be correct. At this point, so many shows that it just all sort of runs together. I didn't keep ticket stubs or write down dates, mostly because I don't really care about such things. I did care about seeing so many great musicians.

 

I saw MANY great shows in Fresno during the 70's and 80's. It sounds insane but there was a huge convention center in downtown Fresno with a 10,000 seat arena. 

Being more or less in between San Francisco and Los Angeles meant that many big acts would schedule a stop in Fresno.

 

[o0Ampy0o]

On 10/26/2023 at 10:15 PM, KuruPrionz said:

…I saw Herbie and his band……..the guitarist was so high that he could barely stand up and it also appeared that Herbie was pretty pissed off about that. 

 

 

17 hours ago, jerrythek said:

I would think it would have been a little later, as he didn’t start using guitars until around Man Child. 

 

 

44 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

And you could very well be correct. At this point, so many shows that it just all sort of runs together.

…the one with Herbie Hancock’s half-cocked and half-baked guitarist. 🎃

[jerrythek]

6 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

And you could very well be correct. At this point, so many shows that it just all sort of runs together.

I hear ya! Although not as well as in my youth...

[franky64]

post Disco, pre Disco .... love Future Shock 'modernised fusion'.
than this "Future-2-Future Live" DVD (it's on YT but DVD has amazing 5.1 experience): a flight through modal and chromatic free jazz, spiritual concepts, hiphop turntable breaks, vocoded groove, world music, transcendental synth noise sound scapes and instrumental solos - a harmonical and rhythmical all-day journey packed in two hours that always leaves me physically exhausted.
 

 

[ProfD]

IMO, the reason most musicians do not play the middle section of Chameleon is because it's not the most popular aspect of the tune among non-musicians.  It's similar to Jazz snobs and musicians skipping the tune altogether. 😉😎

[Reezekeys]

So we choose to alter the arrangements of songs based on how popular they are with audiences? I'm not sure of that. IMO it's because this is the kind of tune called at "jazz jams" – due to the simple vamp that those of, let's be charitable, "lesser abilities" 🙂 , can navigate with a semblance of success. That middle part is beyond a lot of these folks' abilities. I would wager the meter changes in that part ensures a train wreck unless  it's a set band that had rehearsed it, or maybe not a set band, but where all on stage had confirmed their familiarity with the arrangement before they counted off the song. Neither of those scenarios is typical at the "JAZZ JAM." Of course there's a 3rd possiility for a group being able to pull off the middle part: someone brought a proper chart, and everyone is reading!

[ProfD]

28 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

So we choose to alter the arrangements of songs based on how popular they are with audiences? I'm not sure of that.  IMO it's because this is the kind of tune called at "jazz jams" – due to the simple vamp that those of, let's be charitable, "lesser abilities" 🙂 , can navigate with a semblance of success.

I've seen/heard A-list Jazz musicians skip the middle section too. Maybe in the interest of time considering that Chameleon as recorded is 15 minutes long.🤣

 

At a Jazz jam session, I can see them skipping the middle section whether it is keeping the KB player from taking a Rhodes solo or lesser abilities among musicians or it's not a point in the tune where everybody playing an instrument gets to participate.🤣

 

That's why I'm a huge proponent of KB-player led bands.  Leave no sections or parts of the tunes uncovered.😁😎

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

I've seen/heard A-list Jazz musicians skip the middle section too. Maybe in the interest of time considering that Chameleon as recorded is 15 minutes long.

 

Without geting too far into the weeds on this one tune - Chameleon at a jam session can be a 30-minutes long without the middle section! Depends how many horn players are lined up to play!

 

In actuality, even if I knew that middle part cold (I don't, I've never played it on a gig or at a jam), I'd still be a little nervous about calling it – even with a band that claimed to know it. Unless we follow somebody cueing us through each section, it could easily train wreck; after all, who's to say we all know the identical arrangement? Some may have copped it from a live recording. Leaving out that middle part is a quick & easy way to make the tune playable by almost anybody - so it's easy to see why that's the usual scenario.

 

My main beef with all this is that at most gigs or jams, you have multiple soloists (usually horns) playing for multiple minutes on a two-chord vamp. Unless a soloist has the skills to improvise a solo that actually builds, then releases tension, and knows when to end their solo, this tune turns into an interminable bore-fest! And guess who solos (usually) next to last? That's right, it's the keyboard player! Ever try to get something going at a jam or gig on a tune, after lots & lots of aimless 2-chord soloing? The wind is out of the sails. This is why I rarely take these gigs now.

[jazzpiano88]

I don't know.   I guess I don't really get the point of Herbie ripping through a bebop solo (is that what you'd call it?) in the middle section of a predominantly two chord funk/disco tune with the strings sawing away.     Maybe that's why you don't hear that portion much because it's not needed and out of place?   Cold Sweat didn't need anything like that.

 

I'd much rather hear Herbie rip out an iconic Rhodes solo on a tune with the harmonic complexity of Butterfly through the changes rather than sitting on that vamp.

 

Without getting even further into the weeds on the subject of developing a solo, especially over changes versus a vamp,  I like guys would hone an improv live and then unleash some version of it on a recording that would literally astonish the listening public. -- Like Grant Geissman's solo on that genre's Feel's So Good.

 

 

[Reezekeys]

2 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

I don't know.   I guess I don't really get the point of Herbie ripping through a bebop solo (is that what you'd call it?) in the middle of a two chord funk/disco tune with the strings sawing away.

 

You're talking about Chameleon right? A bebop solo? Herbie mostly solos over a two chord vamp - Bb min/Db11. Does it really sound to you like the tune takes a stylistic left turn there? It's the same funky Herbie from where I listen. There are "interlude" sections of a 7/8 bar followed by some bars of 3 that break up the solo - same as the section right before his solo starts, but extended, with different chords in the 3/4 part. I hear a few strings in there but nothing too heavy. À chacun son goût!