Back in 1973, forward-thinking jazz luminary Herbie Hancock struck pop-crossover funk-fusion gold with Head Hunters, his first album featuring a new-look band appropriately dubbed The Headhunters. The unique sound they pioneered together—an inventive blend of jazz, funk, and rock and roll—became a sensation, catapulting Hancock and The Headhunters to unprecedented levels of international acclaim. The buzz surrounding The Headhunters only continued to grow as the band doled out a string of seminal jazz-fusion albums like Thrust, Flood, and Man Child over the ensuing three years.
While the ever-restless Hancock eventually moved on to other musical endeavors in the late 1970s, The Headhunters—led by the longtime rhythmic core of percussionist Bill Summers and drummer Mike Clark—have continued to illuminate the creative roads they helped pave as a time-tested touring act of their own.
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Today, Summer and Clark are joined in The Headhunters by lauded New Orleans staples like saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., keyboardist Kyle Roussel, and bassist Chris Severin, each of whom bring their own individualistic sounds and styles to bear within the long-standing Headhunters milieu.
The group’s forthcoming LP, The Stunt Man, recorded and produced collectively by the band at the legendary Hyde Street Studios in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco in August 2023 and due for release on October 11th, 2024 via Ropeadope, highlights the broad stylistic breadth and conversational, give-and-take interplay between the group’s members that has always set The Headhunters apart as a singular musical force.
In addition to the recently released title track, an emotive composition credited to all five band members, The Stunt Man features a pair of revitalized covers (“Embraceable You” by George Gershwin and “ESP” by Wayne Shorter) as well as various originals penned by various members of the modern lineup (Harrison’s “Sand Castle Headhunters”, Roussel’s “Attitude of Gratitude”, and Clark’s spacey “Avant Clark”). In an homage to the rap world, which has widely sampled early Headhunters compositions for years, the album comes to a close with “New Levels – New Devils”, a crossover with Summers’ experimental hip-hop project Forward Back.
As Mike Clark told Live For Live Music of the new record, “The Headhunters are always searching, digging deeper into our roots while pushing boundaries and breaking the rules for over 50 years!”
View the full album tracklist and listen to the album’s title track below. Follow the band on social media to stay updated on a forthcoming limited edition vinyl release and other new Headhunters content.
The Headhunters – The Stunt Man – Album Tracklist
1. The Stunt Man
2. Attitude Of Gratitude
3. Embraceable You
4. ESP
5. Avant Clark
6. Sand Castle Headhunters
7. New Levels – New Devils (feat. Forward Back)
The Headhunters – “The Stunt Man” (Single)
After getting The Stunt Man tour started earlier this summer with a string of overseas dates, The Headhunters are set to hit the road back home with a run of U.S. performances this month including stops in Washington, D.C. (9/11), New York, NY (9/12), Seattle, WA (9/17, 9/18), Portland, OR (9/19), Eugene, OR (9/21), and Norfolk, VA (9/28). The group will also perform at the inaugural edition of Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leap Music Festival on Long Island, NY’s North Fork on Friday, September 13th. From there, the band will head overseas once again to continue spreading their unparalleled fusion of instrumental styles to the world.
Below, view a full list of upcoming Headhunters tour dates. For more information and ticketing details, head here.
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