Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California. The album was a commercial and artistic breakthrough for Hancock, crossing over to funk and rock audiences and bringing jazz-funk fusion to mainstream attention, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard 200. Hancock is featured with woodwind player Bennie Maupin from his previous sextet and new collaborators – bassist Paul Jackson, percussionist Bill Summers and drummer Harvey Mason. The latter group of collaborators, which would go on to be known as The Headhunters, also played on Hancock's subsequent studio album Thrust (1974). All of the musicians play multiple instruments on the album.
Bennie Maupin is an American jazz multireedist who performs on various saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet.
Secrets is a jazz-funk fusion album by keyboard player Herbie Hancock. It is also Hancock's seventeenth album overall. Participating musicians include saxophonist Bennie Maupin and guitarist Wah Wah Watson.
Sextant is the eleventh studio album by Herbie Hancock, released in 1973 by Columbia. It is the last album with the Mwandishi-era sextet featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. Synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson and percussionist Buck Clarke also appear.
The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and relatively stable bands: the First Great Quintet from 1955 to 1959, and the Second Great Quintet from late 1964 to early 1969, Davis being the only constant throughout.
Crossings is the tenth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1972. It is the second album in his Mwandishi period, which saw him experimenting in electronics and funk with a sextet featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. The album is the band's first to feature synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson. He was scheduled to "set up his Moog for Hancock to play." However, Hancock was so impressed with Gleeson that he "asked Gleeson not only to do the overdubs on the album but join the group."
The Complete On the Corner Sessions is a posthumous box set by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in the US on September 25, 2007, by Columbia Records and in the UK on September 29 on Legacy Recordings. Like other Davis box sets, the included material is taken from a wider chronology of sessions than the dates which actually produced the titular album. The Complete On the Corner Sessions compiles material from 1972 through 1975 which, due to lineup changes Davis made throughout the era, features over two dozen musicians.
V.S.O.P. is a 1977 double live album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, featuring acoustic jazz performances by the V.S.O.P. Quintet, jazz fusion/ jazz-funk performances by the ‘Mwandishi’ band and The Headhunters.
Live at the Lighthouse is a live album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1971. The album features a quintet of Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Harold Mabern, Jymie Merritt, and Mickey Roker, recorded at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California in July 1970. Originally released as a double LP comprising four side-long recordings, the 1996 CD reissue expanded the track list with over one-hundred minutes of additional material from the Lighthouse gigs. In 2021, Blue Note released an 8-CD/12-LP box set featuring the complete recordings of Morgan's three-night stint to commemorate the original album's fiftieth anniversary.
¡Caramba! is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1968. It features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins with arrangements by Cal Massey.
Taru is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded in 1968, but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The album features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, John Hicks, George Benson, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.
Patrick Gleeson is an American musician, synthesizer pioneer, composer, and producer.
The DeJohnette Complex is the debut album by Jack DeJohnette featuring Bennie Maupin, Stanley Cowell, Miroslav Vitous, Eddie Gómez, and Roy Haynes recorded in 1968 and released on the Milestone label in 1969.
Nucleus is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, released on the Milestone label in 1975, featuring performances by Rollins with George Duke, Raul de Souza, Bennie Maupin, Chuck Rainey, Eddie Moore, Mtume, Bob Cranshaw and Roy McCurdy. It was recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA, on September 2–5, 1975.
Serenade to a Soul Sister is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1968, featuring performances by Silver with Charles Tolliver, Stanley Turrentine, Bennie Maupin, Bob Cranshaw, John Williams, Mickey Roker and Billy Cobham.
The Jewel in the Lotus is the debut album by jazz woodwind player Bennie Maupin, recorded in March 1974 and released on ECM later that year. The sextet's rhythm section consists pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Buster Williams and percussionists Billy Hart, Freddie Waits and Bill Summers, with guest appearances from trumpeter Charles Sullivan. The title is a translation of the Buddhist mantra Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ.
Afternoon of a Georgia Faun is an album by American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded on August 10, 1970 and released on ECM later that year. The sextet features fellow saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Bennie Maupin, pianist Chick Corea, and vocalists Jeanne Lee and Gayle Palmore, backed by two percussionists on one side and five on the other.
Marion Brown Quartet is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown, his debut as a leader. It was recorded in November 1965 in New York City, and was released in 1966 on the ESP-Disk label. The album features Brown on alto saxophone, Alan Shorter on trumpet, Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone, Reggie Johnson and Ronnie Boykins on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums.
Penumbra is an album by multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin. It was recorded in California in 2003 and 2006, and was released in 2006 by Cryptogramophone Records. On the album, Maupin is joined by bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, drummer Michael Stephans, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson.
Early Reflections is an album by multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin. It was recorded in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2007, and was released in 2008 by Cryptogramophone Records. On the album, Maupin is joined by an ensemble of Polish musicians featuring pianist Michal Tokaj, bassist Michal Baranski, and drummer Lukasz Zyta. Vocalist Hania Chowaniec-Rybka also appears on two tracks. Maupin met the players while performing in Poland, and invited them to record with him.
