The Herbie Hancock Group-Head Hunters (1973)

Once Herbie Hancock concluded his "Mwandishi" period (essentially a fusion of free jazz, modal jazz, and tribal sounds), he returned to a more conventional, funk-infused jazz style with the release of "The Herbie Hancock Group: Head Hunters". For this album, Hancock reunited his band Sextant, which included Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, and Bill Summers. Comprising four expansive tracks, from the opening "Chameleon", Hancock makes it clear that the material presented here differs considerably from his previous work. A tour de force in clear jazz-funk style, the jazz-rock influences of "Bitches Brew" are represented in the dynamic "Sly" and the ethereal, atmospheric "Vein Melter", while the jazz-fusion track "Watermelon Man" provides the most accessible moment on the entire album. This "Head Hunters" is, along with works such as "Crossings" (1972), "Sextant" (1973), "Thrust" (1974), "Man-Child" (1975) or "Mr. Hands" (1980), the creative pinnacle of one of the greatest jazz rock pianists in history.