Headhunters: Evolution Revolution

HEADHUNTERS
Evolution Revolution

Basin Street Records

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Back in 1974, Herbie Hancock decided to get himself a funky rhythm section that could throw down some booty-shaking grooves and recorded the Headhunters album. Working with electric bassist Paul Jackson, percussionist Bill Summers, and drummer Harvey Mason, along with woodwind player Bennie Maupin (the only holdover from Hancock’s Mwandishi band), Hancock managed to create an incredibly jazz/funk hybrid that most bona fide jazz musicians had been afraid to go after. With Mike Clark on drums and Hancock gone or relegated to guest status the band continued to record, putting out Straight From the Gate, Survival of the Fittest, and Return of the Headhunters.

Now Headhunters are back with Evolution Revolution, a CD that presents not only the group’s groundbreaking jazz/funk, but also some smooth sounds (“Headhunting”), R&B (“On the Shores of Amore”), straight ahead jazz (“Woody Shaw” and “Take No Prizzonerz”), blues and gospel (“Everything,” “Fonkyfried”), and African-influenced (“Yekola”). The core rhythm section of Summers, Clark, and Jackson are back, and the reunion is complete with the addition of special guests Harvey Mason and Bennie Maupin. Throw in appearances by Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison, George Porter, Jr., Wah Wah Watson, Victor Atkins, and Irvin Mayfield, and you’ve got the makings of an incredible session.

Summers and company do not disappoint. The album opens with the very brief interlude “Hindewhu For You,” which features the distinctive instrument that Summers used on the introduction to Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” on the original Headhunters album. From there we slide easily into the very Hancock-inspired “Slick It” (featuring some of the groovy synth washes heard on the original Headhunters’ “Sly” and “Vein Melter”), with Nicholas Payton providing some Miles-by-way-of-Eddie-Henderson trumpet work Next up is a sharp remake of the group’s “God Made Me Funky,” originally recorded on the band’s Survival of the Fittest album. When Harvey Mason, an original member of the smooth band Forplay, returns with his composition “Headhunting,” a track that also features Maupin and guitarist Wah Wah Watson, things begin to change up a bit, but by this time, you are definitely along for the whole ride.

“Everythin” features gospel-tinged vocals from Juanita Brooks, Maisha Rose, and Paul Jackson as well as a down-home bluesy trumpet solo from Payton. “On the Shores of Amore” finds us in urban contemporary R&B territory; the piece is helped by the tasteful playing and rhythmic conception of the musicians. Victor Atkins does his best Herbie impression on both acoustic piano and keyboards. Singer Vinx Parrette has a deep and arresting voice. On “Take No Prizzonerz” Donald Harrison provides a great alto sax sound and some straight on jazz blowing. We’re only halfway through the album! I’ve gotta give it up for Mark Samuels at Basin Street Records: their releases really, really give the listener their money’s worth, and this one is no exception. More might be less in the hands of less skillful artists, but these guys seem to play everything well.

“Gotta Be Strong” opens like a Los Hombres Calientes number (Summers is one of the leaders of that group) and never lets up on the percussion and the funky Latin piano rhythms. “Woody Shaw” pays tribute to a seriously overlooked trumpet great, allowing Payton a real chance to shine, while Mike Clark unleashes some bebop drumming. George Porter, Jr. lends his vocals to the funked out blues “Fonkyfried (If the bluenotes don’t gitcha).” We spin through some smooth jazz and another Headhunters funk special before hitting “Yekola,” an Afro-Carribean funk number that brings Summers’s Los Hombres compadre Irvin Mayfield into the mix. Congalese vocalist/guitarist Samba Ngo provides the upbeat vocals. Finally the group brings things to a conclusion with “Evolution Revolution” featuring the core rhythm section along with keyboard player Ronald Markham in a track that definitely recalls elements of the very first Headhunters album.

Some of the Headhunters reunion CDs in the past have been a bit disappointing, but if you like living in the neighborhood where jazz, funk, blues, R&B, and other musical forms intermingle freely, you’ll really enjoy Evolution Revolution. Now let’s hope that these guys don’t wait quite so long before their next outing together.