Herbie Hancock Head Hunters

Jazz purists didn't always thrill to Herbie Hancock's musical innovations. But whether or not they dug it, there was no denying that, with Head Hunters, Hancock opened doors and minds, lending to the birth of jazz fusion and to electronic music. Using an Arp, Fender Rhodes and other synths and keyboards, Hancock gave this 1973 album a feel that somehow remains timeless. And the rest of the ensemble locked right into this funk-jazz vision. Bennie Maupin's reeds lend just the right warmth to these sessions. Bassist Paul Jackson puts a bottom on "Chameleon" that rips floorboards clean from their roots. It's the perfect groove for Hancock's funky, screechy, and lucid solos. Hancock reworks his own standard, "Watermelon Man," in a completely new mode, creating a more tribal, urgent statement than anyone knew the song could elicit.