The Headhunters

The Headhunters
Background information
Genres	Jazz fusion
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Columbia, Verve Forecast, Basin Street, P-Vine, Owl Studios
Past members	Herbie Hancock Bennie Maupin Paul Jackson Harvey Mason Bill Summers Mike Clark DeWayne McKnight Wah Wah Watson

The Headhunters were an American jazz-fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music.

History (and name)[]

Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a stronger funk component.^[1] He chose the name of the group, "Headhunters", while doing Buddhist chanting.^[1] The name pleased him because it made a triple reference to the jungle, to intellectual concerns, and to sexual activity.^[1]

In 1973, the band comprised Hancock (keyboards), Bennie Maupin (saxophone, clarinet), Harvey Mason (drums), Paul Jackson (bass), and Bill Summers (percussion). Their first album, Head Hunters, sold more than one million copies.^[2]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Live albums[]

References[]

External links[]

• The Headhunters on AllMusic
• The Headhunters on discogs
• "The Headhunters". NNDB.
• "Head Hunters: the Making of Jazz's First Platinum Album / by Steven F. Pond".