Herbie's Classic

Chameleons are most known for their distinct range of colors as they are able to shift in different hues and brightness. That’s a pretty great description of the innovative, classic album Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock.

Released 49 years ago on this day in 1973, Hancock created a jazz-funk masterpiece that propelled him from small, smokey jazz clubs to arena-rock stardom. It became one of the largest selling jazz albums of all time with more than one million copies sold upon its release in October, 1973.

It was a risky chance by Hancock. But the payoff was spectacular! With just four songs (totalling 41 minutes), Hancock gave himself and his band plenty of time to explore this genre of jazz and the results are spectacular.

Kicking off with the over fifteen minute song, “Chameleon” (a song you’ve heard before, even if you didn’t know it). From the funky opening bass line to the consistent and solid drums, Hancock’s solos are full of quick runs and trippy effects, creating new sounds along the way. Bennie Maupin’s saxophone playing is top notch.

Next up is another well-sampled and well-known song, “Watermelon Man”. A reimagining of the original version (drummer Harvey Mason reimagined it), the jazziness is in full effect with enough funk to keep your head bobbing. On the intro and outro of the tune, percussionist Bill Summers blows into beer bottles imitating hindewhu, a style of singing/whistle-playing found in Pygmy music of Central Africa. Hancock and Summers were struck by the sound.

“Sly” was dedicated to Sly Stone (funk pioneer and leader of Sly and the Family Stone) and starts with such a sweet groove. After about two minutes, the funk and tempo gets kicked up a notch with the drums, saxophone and Hancock’s keyboard trading turns while the bass hangs out in the background, but still present enough to keep the tempo.

The last track, “Vein Melter” starts off slowly, with an almost space-like sound from Hancock over the marching drum sounds. The song feels to me like the band decided to do a one-take and mess around a bit.

The album would not only go on to pave the way for electronic music and hip-hop style, but Hancock's eclectic sound would cut across to influence other genres of music as well. Moreover, it ultimately changed the way people heard music by opening the door to new musical soundscapes and possibilities.

If you’ve never listened to it, take a chance. If you haven’t in a while, you know what you need to do.