History
Herbie Hancock originally assembled the band for his 1973 album Head Hunters. The Headhunters' new lineup and instrumentation, retaining only wind player Bennie Maupin from Hancock's previous sextet, reflected his new musical direction. Bassist Paul Jackson was really the only other member who maintained a continuous presence in the lineup in subsequent recordings and concerts. On the original Head Hunters album the other band members were percussionist Bill Summers and drummer Harvey Mason. For the next Hancock album featuring Headhunters, 1974's Thrust, Mike Clark took over drumming duties.
Both Mason and Clark contributed drums to the Hancock's 1975's solo album Man-Child which featured 18 musicians.
1975 also saw Headhunters first album without Hancock, Survival of the Fittest, featuring the hit "God Make Me Funky". This song was sampled by The Fugees, among many others, for their track "Ready or Not," and has been covered by Jamiroquai as a live track. While Hancock's Man-Child moved a bit towards more commercial sounds, Survival of the Fittest kept Headhunters focused to intense jazz-funk. Vocals were heard on two songs but there was still lots of experimental fusion on the album (the band's music is called "space-funk" on some re-issues of the album).
As the 1970s turned to the 1980s, Herbie Hancock drifted away from the band as he moved into his electro-oriented phase, and they ceased operation as a visible unit. The band reunited with Hancock for the 1998 album Return of the Headhunters.
Clark, Jackson and Summers have since continued recording and performing as The Headhunters, with varied incarnations such as Victor Atkins or Robert Walter filling in for Hancock on keyboards, and utilizing the amazing gifts of Donald Harrison as often as possible. They released an album, Evolution Revolution, for Basin Street Records in 2003, and backed up the saxophonist Rebecca Barry on her 2005 album Rebecca Barry and the Headhunters. They toured again in 2008, with Jerry Z on keyboards and bassist T.M. Stevens and, most recently, in 2009 have done gigs featuring Geri Allen on keyboards and Donald Harrison on alto with Richie Goods playing bass.
In 2010 The Headhunters signed with Indianapolis jazz label Owl Studios. Their new album, Platinum, will be released on June 14, 2011 and features many of the original members of the band with guest spots by Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, and Killah Priest, among others.
Read more about this topic: The Headhunters
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