The Headhunters are probably best known as Herbie Hancock’s backing band from the 1970’s, when the great jazz pianist began branching out into fusion and funk. He recruited players like Bernie Maupin (sax), Mike Clark (drums) and Paul Jackson (bass) and the recently deceased Wah Wah Watson. They produced the eponymous first album, then Hancock moved on to other projects – but the band continued in various guises up until today.
To be frank, it was an odd sort of gig, the last of their UK tour, and playing a small Wales club venue with a small audience. Only two original members remain, the superbly proficient jazz drummer Mike Clark and percussionist Bill Summers, from New Orleans. It was a weird set-up, with bassist Paul Jackson being heartbreakingly absent and the drummer having to try to engage with some kind of loop app rather than a real musician. It didn’t really work – and goes to show that the magic and chemistry between bass and drums is vital and irreplaceable to this kind of band.
The atmosphere in the first hour of the 90 minute set was as weird as anything I’d experienced. The band didn’t seem to want to be there. Mike Clark was displaying his virtuoso technique and groove, but it seemed vacuous and indulgent without a bass foil. Sax player Donald Harrison was so detached that he seemed to be on another planet. While his playing was actually quite beautiful, he seemed to be floating in musical isolation. Bitter jokes about Herbie and his success were cracked at his expense. I began to mildly despair, until the last 30 minutes when the band began to cook, almost despite themselves. A gorgeous interpretation of Watermelon Man, then an almost spontaneous bit of NOLA/Cajun/jazz fusion, with Harrison leading the chanting and the dancing. New Orleans at last came to Cardiff.
If only the whole concert could have been as good as that last number, it would have been a red letter day.
