The Vinyl Factory continues yet another "Roots & Branches" feature that explores certain rap, hip-hop, R&B, soul and jazz albums and the albums they influenced. And succeeded.
This go around, TVF explores Herbie Hancock's iconic Head Hunters (1973) LP and the various records that it influenced.
Perhaps one of the most versatile musicians around then, Miles Davis is quoted saying: "Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk, and I haven't heard anybody yet who has come after him," which is where the article begins.
Takin' Off featured Hancock and Davis' first crossover hit, "Watermelon Man," which broke the Billboard Top 100.
The article continues to discuss various interpretations of the album and how artists re-appropriated similar conventions popularized by the tracks. As Hancock felt Head Hunters was pulled by its jazz influence, always a New Lion, he felt that jazz was open to interpretation. Many purists believed that later artists like, say, Kraftwerk were a demoralizing essence.
"The thing that keeps jazz alive, even if it's under the radar, is that it is so free and so open to not only lend its influence to other genres, but to borrow and be influenced by other genres. That's the way it breathes," says Hancock.
So, if you're interested in discovering new tidbits and trivia answers, make your way over to The Vinyl Factory's most recent article on Herbie's venerable 1973 release.
To wit, here's the chameleon's own Head Hunters.
