Head Hunters
Encyclopedia
Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album
by American jazz
musician Herbie Hancock
, released October 13, 1973, on Columbia Records
in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during September 1973 at Wally Heider Studios
and Different Fur
Trading Co. in San Francisco, California
. Head Hunters is a key release in Hancock's career and a defining moment in the genre of jazz fusion
. In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 in the book version of Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2007, the Library of Congress
added it to the National Recording Registry
, which collects "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" sound recordings from the 20th century.
(1970), Crossings (1971), and Sextant
(1972), released at a time when Hancock was looking for a new direction in which to take his music:
For the new album, Hancock assembled a new band, The Headhunters
, of whom only Bennie Maupin had been a sextet member. Hancock handled all synthesizer parts himself (having previously shared these duties with Patrick Gleeson
) and he decided against the use of guitar altogether, favouring instead the clavinet
, one of the defining sounds on the album. The new band featured a tight rhythm and blues
-oriented rhythm section
composed of Paul Jackson
(bass) and Harvey Mason
(drums), and the album has a relaxed, funky groove that gave the album an appeal to a far wider audience. Perhaps the defining moment of the jazz-fusion movement (or perhaps even the spearhead of the Jazz-funk
style of the fusion genre), the album made jazz listeners out of rhythm and blues fans, and vice versa. The album mixes funk rhythms, like the busy high hats in 16th notes on the opening track "Chameleon
", with the jazz AABA form and extended soloing.
Of the four tracks on the album "Watermelon Man" was the only one not written for the album. A hit from Hancock's hard bop
days, originally appearing on his first album Takin' Off, it was reworked by Hancock and Mason and has an instantly recognisable intro featuring Bill Summers blowing into a beer bottle, an imitation of the hindewho
, an instrument of the Mbuti Pygmies of Northeastern Zaire
. The track features heavy use of African percussion. "Sly" was dedicated to pioneering funk musician Sly Stone
, leader of Sly & the Family Stone
. "Chameleon" (the opening track) is another track with an instantly recognisable intro, the very funky bassline being played on an ARP
Odyssey
synth. "Vein Melter" is a slow-burner, predominantly featuring Hancock and Maupin, with Hancock mostly playing Fender Rhodes electric piano
, but occasionally bringing in some heavily effected synth parts.
Heavily edited versions of "Chameleon" and "Vein Melter" were released as a 45 rpm single.
After its initial release, the album was also mixed into Quadraphonic
(4-channel sound) and released by Columbia in 1974 in the vinyl and 8-track tape
formats. The quad mixes features audio elements not heard in the stereo version, including a 2-second keyboard melody at the beginning of "Sly" that was edited out. It was released digitally on the SACD
edition for the album (Columbia/Legacy CS 65123).
At the time of the 1992 CD
reissue it was the largest-selling jazz album of all time, and has been an inspiration not only for jazz musicians, but also to funk
, soul music
, jazz funk and hip hop
artists.
The HeadHunters band (with Mike Clark replacing Harvey Mason) worked with Hancock on a number of other albums, including Thrust
(1974), Man-Child
(1975), Flood
(recorded live in Japan, 1975). Subsequent albums Secrets (1976) and Sunlight (1977), had widely diverging personnel. The Headhunters, with Hancock featured as a guest soloist, produced a couple of fine funk albums, Survival of the Fittest (1975) and Straight from the Gate (1978), the first of which was produced by Hancock and featured the big hit "God Make me Funky".
The image on the album cover is based on an African mask
that is associated with the Baoulé
tribe from Côte d'Ivoire
. They have various types of masks known as Goli
that have to be considered a family. Their presence is called upon in times of danger, during epidemics or at funeral ceremonies. The image also resembles the tape head
demagnetizer used on reel-to-reel audio tape recording
equipment at the time of this recording.
Side B
Neither edits on the single have been released on CD.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, released October 13, 1973, on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during September 1973 at Wally Heider Studios
Wally Heider Studios
Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio in San Francisco, California between 1969 and 1980, started by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider.-History:...
and Different Fur
Different Fur
Different Fur is a recording studio located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, and is located at 3470 19th Street...
Trading Co. in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Head Hunters is a key release in Hancock's career and a defining moment in the genre of jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
. In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 in the book version of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2007, the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
added it to the National Recording Registry
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
, which collects "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" sound recordings from the 20th century.
Structure and release
Head Hunters followed a series of experimental albums by Hancock's sextet: MwandishiMwandishi
Mwandishi is the ninth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1971. It is one of Hancock's first departures from the traditional idioms of jazz as well as the onset of a new, creative and original style which produced an appeal to a wider audience, before his 1973 album, Head Hunters...
(1970), Crossings (1971), and Sextant
Sextant (album)
Sextant is the eleventh album by Herbie Hancock, and the last album with his Mwandishi Band.-About the Album:Released in 1973 but recorded in 1972, Sextant was Herbie Hancock's first album on Columbia Records. It was a complex, harmonically and rhythmically challenging musical statement...
(1972), released at a time when Hancock was looking for a new direction in which to take his music:
"I began to feel that I had been spending so much time exploring the upper atmosphere of music and the more ethereal kind of far-out spacey stuff. Now there was this need to take some more of the earth and to feel a little more tethered; a connection to the earth....I was beginning to feel that we (the sextet) were playing this heavy kind of music, and I was tired of everything being heavy. I wanted to play something lighter." (Hancock's sleeve notes: 1997 CD reissue)
For the new album, Hancock assembled a new band, The Headhunters
The Headhunters
The Headhunters are an American jazz-funk fusion band, best known for their albums they recorded as a backing band of jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock during the 1970s. Hancock's debut album with the group, Head Hunters, is one of the best-selling jazz/fusion records of all time.-History:Herbie...
, of whom only Bennie Maupin had been a sextet member. Hancock handled all synthesizer parts himself (having previously shared these duties with Patrick Gleeson
Patrick Gleeson
Patrick Gleeson is a musician, synthesizer pioneer, composer and producer, from California, USA.Gleeson began experimenting with electronic music in the mid-'60s at the San Francisco Tape Music Center using a Buchla synth and other devices....
) and he decided against the use of guitar altogether, favouring instead the clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, one of the defining sounds on the album. The new band featured a tight rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
-oriented rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
composed of Paul Jackson
Paul Jackson (bassist)
Paul Jackson is an American jazz bass guitarist and composer. He has played with many of the great jazz artists, most notably playing bass on several of Herbie Hancock's seminal albums, Head Hunters, Thrust, and others. He was born in Oakland, California and began playing bass at the age of nine...
(bass) and Harvey Mason
Harvey Mason
Harvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, The Brecker Brothers, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz...
(drums), and the album has a relaxed, funky groove that gave the album an appeal to a far wider audience. Perhaps the defining moment of the jazz-fusion movement (or perhaps even the spearhead of the Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers...
style of the fusion genre), the album made jazz listeners out of rhythm and blues fans, and vice versa. The album mixes funk rhythms, like the busy high hats in 16th notes on the opening track "Chameleon
Chameleon (composition)
"Chameleon" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock in collaboration with Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason, all of whom also performed the original 15'44" version on the 1973 landmark album Head Hunters featuring solos by Hancock and Maupin....
", with the jazz AABA form and extended soloing.
Of the four tracks on the album "Watermelon Man" was the only one not written for the album. A hit from Hancock's hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
days, originally appearing on his first album Takin' Off, it was reworked by Hancock and Mason and has an instantly recognisable intro featuring Bill Summers blowing into a beer bottle, an imitation of the hindewho
Hindewho
Hindewhu is a style of singing/whistle-playing of the BaBenzélé pygmies of the Central African Republic. The word is an onomatopoeia for the sound of a performer alternately singing pitched syllables and blowing into a single-pitch papaya-stem whistle...
, an instrument of the Mbuti Pygmies of Northeastern Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
. The track features heavy use of African percussion. "Sly" was dedicated to pioneering funk musician Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, leader of Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
. "Chameleon" (the opening track) is another track with an instantly recognisable intro, the very funky bassline being played on an ARP
ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
synth. "Vein Melter" is a slow-burner, predominantly featuring Hancock and Maupin, with Hancock mostly playing Fender Rhodes electric piano
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, but occasionally bringing in some heavily effected synth parts.
Heavily edited versions of "Chameleon" and "Vein Melter" were released as a 45 rpm single.
After its initial release, the album was also mixed into Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
(4-channel sound) and released by Columbia in 1974 in the vinyl and 8-track tape
8-track cartridge
Stereo 8, commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track, is a magnetic tape sound recording technology. It was popular in the United States from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s, but was relatively unknown in many European countries...
formats. The quad mixes features audio elements not heard in the stereo version, including a 2-second keyboard melody at the beginning of "Sly" that was edited out. It was released digitally on the SACD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
edition for the album (Columbia/Legacy CS 65123).
At the time of the 1992 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
reissue it was the largest-selling jazz album of all time, and has been an inspiration not only for jazz musicians, but also to funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz funk and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists.
The HeadHunters band (with Mike Clark replacing Harvey Mason) worked with Hancock on a number of other albums, including Thrust
Thrust (album)
Thrust is a jazz fusion album by Herbie Hancock, released in 1974 on Columbia Records. It served as a follow-up to Hancock's album, Head Hunters , and achieved similar commercial success, as the album reached as high as number 13 on the Billboard Hot 200 listing...
(1974), Man-Child
Man-Child
Man-Child is the seventeenth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The album is arguably one of his most funk influenced albums and it represents his further departure from the "spacey, higher atmosphere jazz," as he referred to it, of his earlier career. Hancock uses more funk based rhythms around...
(1975), Flood
Flood (Herbie Hancock album)
Flood is the eighteenth album by Herbie Hancock. It was released only in Japan in 1975. It features the Headhunters Band, performing their hits from the Head Hunters, Thrust and Man-Child albums...
(recorded live in Japan, 1975). Subsequent albums Secrets (1976) and Sunlight (1977), had widely diverging personnel. The Headhunters, with Hancock featured as a guest soloist, produced a couple of fine funk albums, Survival of the Fittest (1975) and Straight from the Gate (1978), the first of which was produced by Hancock and featured the big hit "God Make me Funky".
The image on the album cover is based on an African mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
that is associated with the Baoulé
Baoulé
The Baoulé are an Akan people and one of the largest groups in the Ivory Coast. The Baoulé are farmers who live in the eastern side of Côte d'Ivoire . The Baoule people are represented by religion, art, festivals, and equal society . There are more than sixty-five different Akan-speaking ethnic...
tribe from Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
. They have various types of masks known as Goli
Goli
Goli is a village development committee in Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of north-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2276 people living in 455 individual households.-External links:*...
that have to be considered a family. Their presence is called upon in times of danger, during epidemics or at funeral ceremonies. The image also resembles the tape head
Tape head
A tape head is a type of transducer used in tape recorders to convert electrical signals to magnetic fluctuations and vice versa.-Principles of operation:...
demagnetizer used on reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
equipment at the time of this recording.
Track listing
Side A- "ChameleonChameleon (composition)"Chameleon" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock in collaboration with Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason, all of whom also performed the original 15'44" version on the 1973 landmark album Head Hunters featuring solos by Hancock and Maupin....
" (Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
/Paul JacksonPaul Jackson (bassist)Paul Jackson is an American jazz bass guitarist and composer. He has played with many of the great jazz artists, most notably playing bass on several of Herbie Hancock's seminal albums, Head Hunters, Thrust, and others. He was born in Oakland, California and began playing bass at the age of nine...
/Harvey MasonHarvey MasonHarvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, The Brecker Brothers, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz...
/Bennie MaupinBennie MaupinBennie Maupin is a Detroit Michigan jazz multireedist. He performs on various saxophones, flute and bass clarinet.He is probably best known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi sextet and Headhunters band, and for performing on Miles Davis's seminal fusion record, Bitches Brew...
) – 15:41 - "Watermelon Man" (Hancock) – 6:29
Side B
- "Sly" (Hancock) – 10:15
- "Vein Melter" (Hancock) – 9:09
Single
- "Chameleon" (2:50)/"Vein Melter" (4:00) - Columbia 4-46002 (U.S.); released 1974
Neither edits on the single have been released on CD.
Musicians
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- Fender Rhodes electric pianoRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
- Hohner D6 clavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
- ARPARP Instruments, Inc.ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
OdysseyARP OdysseyThe ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
synthesizer - ARPARP Instruments, Inc.ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
Soloist synthesizer
- Fender Rhodes electric piano
- Bennie MaupinBennie MaupinBennie Maupin is a Detroit Michigan jazz multireedist. He performs on various saxophones, flute and bass clarinet.He is probably best known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi sextet and Headhunters band, and for performing on Miles Davis's seminal fusion record, Bitches Brew...
- SopranoSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
and tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s - Saxello
- Bass ClarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
- Alto fluteAlto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
- Soprano
- Paul JacksonPaul Jackson (bassist)Paul Jackson is an American jazz bass guitarist and composer. He has played with many of the great jazz artists, most notably playing bass on several of Herbie Hancock's seminal albums, Head Hunters, Thrust, and others. He was born in Oakland, California and began playing bass at the age of nine...
- Electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- MarímbulaMarímbulaA marímbula is a folk musical instrument of the Caribbean Islands . The marímbula is usually classified as part of the lamellophone family of musical instruments. With its roots in African instruments, marimbula originated in the province of Oriente, Cuba in the 19th century...
- Electric bass
- Bill SummersBill Summers (jazz)Bill Summers is a New Orleans based Afro-Cuban jazz/Latin jazz percussionist, a multi-instrumentalist who plays primarily on conga drums. Summers is probably most well known due to his work with Los Hombres Calientes along with his friend and co-leader of the group, trumpeter Irvin Mayfield...
- Congas
- ShekereShekereThis article is about the musical instrument. for the musical genre, see Sekere.The shekere is an instrument from West Africa consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Throughout the continent there are similar gourd/bead or gourd/seed percussion instruments. Some...
- BalafonBalafonThe balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
- AgogôAgogôAn agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...
- CabasaCabasaThe cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wide cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, narrow wooden or plastic handle....
- Hindewhu
- TambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
- Log drumLog drumA log drum is a type of unpitched percussion instrument.*see drum for the history of log drum and information on the log drum as a means of communication in ancient cultures* see also:**Tongue drum**Slit drum**Bosalabos**Wood block...
- SurdoSurdoFor the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....
- Gankogui
- Beer BottleBottleA bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
- Harvey MasonHarvey MasonHarvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, The Brecker Brothers, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- drums
Production
- Produced by Herbie Hancock and David Rubinson.
- Recorded at
- Wally Heider StudiosWally Heider StudiosWally Heider Studios was a recording studio in San Francisco, California between 1969 and 1980, started by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider.-History:...
, San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
- Recording engineers: Fred Catero, Jeremy Aztkin
- Different Fur TradingDifferent FurDifferent Fur is a recording studio located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, and is located at 3470 19th Street...
, San Francisco- Recording engineers: Dane Butcher, John Vieira
- A product of Catero Sound Co., San Francisco
- Wally Heider Studios
- Artist management: Adamsdad Management Co., San Francisco
- Cover design: Victor Moscoso
- Photos: Waldo Bascom
Later Samples
- Chameleon
- "If My Homie CallsIf My Homie Calls"If My Homie Calls" is the second single by 2Pac from his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now. A music video was also made for this single. He performed this song in 1992 on the famed MTV show Yo! MTV Raps...
" by 2Pac from the album 2Pacalypse Now2Pacalypse Now- Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"... - "Words of Wisdom" by 2Pac from the album 2Pacalypse Now2Pacalypse Now- Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"...
- "Dr. Knockboot" by NasNasNasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
from the album I Am... - "Get Up, Get Down" by CoolioCoolioArtis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
from the album Gangsta's ParadiseGangsta's ParadiseGangsta's Paradise is the second album by rapper Coolio, released on November 21, 1995. The album contained three hits: "Gangsta's Paradise", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, "1, 2, 3, 4 ", which reached #5, and "Too Hot," which peaked at #24.-Track listing:-Samples and... - "Underwater Rimes" by Digital UndergroundDigital UndergroundDigital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....
from the album Sex PacketsSex Packets- LP :-Cassette:The cassette version of the album has 3 extra tracks, plus an extended version of "Gutfest '89"... - "Money On My Brain" by Kool G RapKool G RapNathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...
- "Blacker (4 The Good Times) by Ballistic BrothersBallistic BrothersBallistic Brothers were a British based band comprising Ashley Beedle, Rocky & Diesel and David Hill . Specialising in a kind of jazz-influenced funky electronica music, the band released two full length studio albums in the mid-1990s....
from the album Rude System
- "If My Homie Calls
- Watermelon Man
- "I Hate 2 Brag" by Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'NealShaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
from the album Shaq Diesel - "Sanctuary" by MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
from the album Bedtime StoriesBedtime Stories (Madonna album)Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a more R&B direction... - "Escapism (Gettin' Free)" by Digable PlanetsDigable PlanetsDigable Planets is an American alternative hip hop trio based in New York City, composed of Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler , Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving . They released their debut album Reachin' in 1993, and their follow-up album Blowout Comb in 1994...
from the album Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)Reachin is the debut album by alternative hip hop group Digable Planets. It was released on September 27, 1993, by Pendulum/Elektra Records. The album was produced solely by Digable Planets' Butterfly and features raps by each of the group's members. There are no guest performers on Reachin, but... - "Dolly My Baby (Remix)" by Super CatSuper CatSuper Cat is a deejay most popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall movement. Super Cat was born in Jamaica and was nicknamed Wild Apache. His nickname, the "Wild Apache" was given to him by his mentor Early B...
- "1-900-LL-Cool J" by LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
- "I Hate 2 Brag" by Shaquille O'Neal
- Sly
- "You Can't Kill Me" by NasNasNasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
from the album Hip Hop Is DeadHip Hop Is DeadHip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 15, 2006 on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam...
- "You Can't Kill Me" by Nas
External links
- Head Hunters at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- A Crossover Artist Who Feels None the Worse for the Trip — By BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
- 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music: Head Hunters — By Chris Smith