Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Herbie Hancock with his iconic Keytar at The Hollywood Bowl on August 14, 2024, where he performed ...
[+] the Head Hunters album with original bandmates for the first time in half a century. Cris Rosales Fifty-one years ago, Herbie Hancock experienced a sonic breakthrough in the form of Head Hunters, an album with more funk and dance grooves than anyone had ever thought possible from a “jazz” record. On Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, he gathered the surviving bandmates for the first time in half a century (how it that even possible?) to revisit the groundbreaking work that redefined jazz and became the first in the genre to go platinum.
It’s a reunion that seems almost too good to be true, given Head Hunters’ legendary status and the band’s collective influence. Yet here they were, noticeably older, a bit looser with the notes, but still up for delivering a two-and-a-half-hour performance that reaffirmed the record’s lasting impact. Hancock was joined on stage by drummer Harvey Mason, saxophonist Bennie Maupin, and percussionist Bill Summers, plus bassist Marcus Miller, who filled in for the late Paul Jackson, to play straight through one of the greatest albums of all time.
The crowd ate up every bassline and horn blast. By every measure, Head Hunters was a transformative masterpiece in the jazz genre, emblematic of a pivotal era where musical boundaries were relentlessly tested and expanded. The album not only pioneered the jazz-fusion movement by melding funk rhythms with electronic experiments but also pushed jazz into the mainstream with unprecedented commercial success.
The tracks "Chameleon" and "Watermelon Man" did not merely showcase the ingenuity and technical prowess of Hancock and his collaborators but also became anthems that influenced generations of musicians across multiple genres. You’ve heard the songs even if you don’t know you’ve heard them. “Watermelon Man” opened the set, with Summers drawing out African rhythms by blowing into a beer bottle, just as he did on the original recording.
That kicked off a run through tracks that totaled a mere 41 minutes on vinyl, but here stretched into a immersive evening of slow-burning funkedelia. MORE FOR YOU Harris Will Propose $25,000 In Down Payment Aid For First-Time Homebuyers As Part Of Economic Agenda Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, August 16 Thursday, August 15. Russia’s War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine At 84, Hancock is still a marvel of energy, focus and versatility.
On Fender Rhodes and grand piano, his fingers move so fast, it’s almost cartoonish. And it’s hard to imagine another octogenarian strapping on a cumbersome Keytar, like Hancock did for “Chameleon,” and still somehow looking like the coolest guy in the crowd of perhaps 10,000. If the first half was an homage to jazz’s past, the second gave hope for its future.
Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, bassist James Genus, guitarist Lionel Loueke, and 25-year-old drummer Jaylen Petinaud pumped up the pace and energy, while respecting Hancock’s original compositions. function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.
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The night was a bold reminder that Head Hunters still shakes the ground, proving its power to push boundaries and resonate as deeply as ever..
