Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (LP) [2009] Vinyl

Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by Herbie Hancock, originally released on 26 October 1973 on Columbia Records. Widely regarded as one of the most important jazz-funk records ever made, it was the first jazz album to be certified platinum and remains one of the best-selling jazz recordings of all time. This Music On Vinyl reissue presents the album on 180-gram audiophile vinyl, remastered at TuckerSound, New York.

A Jazz-Funk Landmark

Recorded at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, Head Hunters marked a decisive turn for Hancock. Moving away from the abstract post-bop of his Mwandishi sextet, he assembled a new band around electric instruments and funk rhythms. The lineup featured Bennie Maupin on soprano and tenor saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, and alto flute; Paul Jackson on electric bass and marimbula; Harvey Mason on drums; and Bill Summers on an array of percussion including congas, shekere, balafon, agogô, and surdo. Hancock himself played Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, and ARP Odyssey synthesiser.

The Music

The album’s four extended tracks blend jazz improvisation with funk grooves and early synthesiser textures. “Chameleon,” co-written by Hancock, Jackson, Mason, and Maupin, opens with one of the most recognisable bass lines in jazz-funk. “Watermelon Man” reimagines Hancock’s own 1962 hard-bop hit as a loose, percussion-driven groove. “Sly” and “Vein Melter” round out the set with spacious, atmospheric explorations that showcase the ensemble’s interplay.

Music On Vinyl Reissue

This reissue is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and manufactured in the EU by Music On Vinyl B.V. for Sony Music Entertainment. The audio has been remastered to deliver the full dynamic range of the original recordings.