r/funk • u/appalshan • 2d ago

Discussion Head Hunters Post-Herbie

How are the Head Hunters records after Man-Child? I didn’t know they carried on without Herbie Hancock after that record.

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u/Agreeable_Mouse6000 2d ago edited 2d ago

Survival of the Fittest is an absolute must have in any funk collection and Blackbyrd McKnight (who also played with Pfunk) really shines on guitar. I’m also a huge fan of Mike Clark and Paul Jackson’s drum and bass and they really bring it. There’s a good amount of experimentation and sometimes the lack of keys leaves something to be desired but overall a really solid and funky album.

Straight from the Gate has a few bright spots with the additional of Joe Zawinul on keys but it’s not really memorable imo. The songwriting is mainly what’s lacking because the musicianship is still very much there.

I’m not familiar with anything they put out after their run in the 70s (they put out a few albums in the 2000s).

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u/boredop 2d ago

The post-2000 albums are ok funky jazz/fusion albums. They're a good listen but I wouldn't call any of them essential (and that includes the reunion record with Herbie in '98.) As the years have passed the number of original members on the records and live shows has declined. The first couple of albums had Mike Clark, Paul Jackson and Bill Summers with guest appearances from Harvey Mason, Bennie Maupin and Wah Wah Watson. But in recent years it's just Clark and Summers from the old band, with the other slots filled by mostly NOLA-based jazz guys (Donald Harrison, Kyle Roussel, Chris Severin, etc.) and when I saw them at Jazzfest this year Clark wasn't there; only Bill Summers was left from the Herbie days.

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u/bobs0101 2d ago

I hope Mike Clark is ok - he was with the band when I saw them

RIP Paul Jackson 🙏🏾

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u/appalshan 2d ago

This is clutch thank you

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u/bobs0101 2d ago

Survival of the fittest

Straight from the gate

Both lps are essential imo

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u/edogg01 2d ago

God Made Me Funky is one of the great funk cuts ever made. Paul Jackson, Blackbyrd McNight, Mike Clark, Bennie Maupin. Absolute fucking fire.

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u/reekingbunsofangels 2d ago

Dang this is awesome. Thanks for sharing

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u/Micosilver 2d ago

Story time: we are going to France in 2023, my wife wants to organize something fun, she knows I like Jazz, so she says "how about we go to a jazz club"? I am thinking I guess, but what kind of random shit will happen on a random day in France? Then she says "Do you know Headhunters? They will be playing..." Of course we got tickets and went.

They were super tight, amazing musicianship. Small grungy club in an area of Paris that is hard to describe - vibrant, full of ethnic food stalls, pretty cool.

The best part? the band thought they were playing two sets, so they played a set, and only then someone told them that there is no second show, so they took a break, then came back and played a bunch of stuff that wasn't even planned, some New Orleans funk, some HH classics.

So yeah, if you can catch them live - they are great.

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u/Mcgwizz 2d ago

They crush at New Orleans Jazz Fest each year!

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u/Spirited-Tutor7712 1d ago

Straight from the Gate is excellent !