Consuming the Tangible

A quick catch-up since I didn’t get around to this yesterday, what with the return to work and the prep for yet another snowstorm that is currently coming down on us. I should really be outside shoveling, but Herbie Hancock & the Headhunters calls again, this time looser, more laid back and comfortable a year later on Newport Jazz 1974. A slightly cavernous room recording keeps this bootleg from really humming along, but the more relaxed, in-control band sounds phenomenal, and it’s another peek into a group of masters playing at the top of their game.

At this point in the summer of 1974 we’re still a few months away from Thrust, and the band was still riding high on the success of Head Hunters, whose “Watermelon Man” now feels like the perfect opener to get the crowd engaged and ready to have fun. Hearing it eight months later, the vibe is infectious and smooth, the push and pull interplay in the rhythm section of Paul Jackson (bass) and Mike Clark (drums) accentuating the funk. The Head Hunters love continues with a 2-part “Sly” that then segues into the new track “Spank-A-Lee.” Hancock uses the then-unfamiliar song to do his band introductions, similar to what he did on Live 1973‘s “Shiftless Shuffle,” calling out first Clark, then Jackson, then reed man Benny Maupin and percussionist Bill Summers to make their way into the extended jam.

From there we get some more interaction with the ripping “Herbie’s Bee Rap/Hornets” which has the gang frantically supporting Maupin who tears loose on soprano sax before setting up a spotlight for Summers and a quick display of what he brings to the combo before “Chameleon” rings its familiar theme to close the night out.

For someone who has been regularly listening to jazz for over 35 years, I still feel like a novice when writing about it. I don’t have the vocabulary yet to really talk about the moments that move me. Maybe this year I’ll focus on more jazz and build that muscle.

Or not. Who knows?