Melvin M. Ragin, known professionally as "Wah Wah Watson", was an American guitarist who was a member of The Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records.
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 his ‘Mwandishi’ saxophonist Bennie Maupin 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.
Dis Is da Drum is Herbie Hancock's thirty-ninth album and his first solo album since leaving Columbia Records. Guests include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Wallace Roney and flautist Hubert Laws.
Paul Jerome Jackson Jr. was an American jazz electric bassist and composer. He was a founding member of the Headhunters and played on several of Herbie Hancock's albums, including Head Hunters and Thrust. Jackson subsequently moved to Japan and started a voluntary concert called Jazz for Kids, with the intent of familiarizing students there with African-American history.
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.
Mwandishi is the ninth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1971. It is the first album to officially feature Hancock’s ‘Mwandishi’ sextet consisting of saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart.
Thrust is the fourteenth studio album by American jazz-funk musician Herbie Hancock, released in September 1974 on Columbia Records. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. It is the second album featuring The Headhunters: saxophonist Bennie Maupin, bass guitarist Paul Jackson, drummer Mike Clark and percussionist Bill Summers.
"Cantaloupe Island" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock and recorded for his 1964 album Empyrean Isles during his early years as one of the members of Miles Davis' 1960s quintet. Hancock later recorded a jazz-funk fusion version of the track, as Cantelope Island, on his 1976 album Secrets.
Magic Windows is the thirty-second album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on September 29, 1981, on Columbia. This album continues his collaboration with associate producer Jeffrey Cohen, who co-wrote four of the tracks on the album. Additionally, the track "Satisfied with Love" was co-written by his sister, Jean Hancock. Musicians involved in this album include guitarists Wah-Wah Watson, Ray Parker Jr. and Adrian Belew, vocalist Sylvester and percussionists Sheila E. and Paulinho da Costa.
Mr. Hands is the twenty-fourth album by Herbie Hancock. Unlike the preceding album, 'Monster', which was conceptualized as a dance album, 'Mr. Hands' is a collection of different musical styles with distinct groups. It features bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius on the track "4 A.M.," plus multiple guests including Bennie Maupin, Sheila E. and Ron Carter, plus an all-synthesizer track ("Textures") performed entirely by Hancock. "Shiftless Shuffle" was recorded by the members of The Headhunters quintet in 1973 during the sessions for the album Head Hunters. This album was the first on which Hancock used a computer, this time an Apple II. He would continue his relationship with Apple Computer for many years.
Man-Child is the fifteenth studio album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released on August 22, 1975 by Columbia Records. It was the final studio album to feature The Headhunters, and a number of guest musicians including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, a full brass section, three different guitarists, and Stevie Wonder on harmonica.
Feets, Don't Fail Me Now is the twenty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released in February 1979, on the Columbia Records label.
Sunlight is an album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock. It features Hancock's vocals through a Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder, as well as performances by drummer Tony Williams and bassist Jaco Pastorius on one track.
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.
Monster is the 29th album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. As a follow-up to the album Feets, Don't Fail Me Now (1979), it continued the trend of disco songs. The album features vocals on each track, this time without vocoder processing. The album also includes an appearance by Carlos Santana on the opening track "Saturday Night"; this track was the first of many eventual collaborations with Santana, including the 1980 album The Swing of Delight. The track "Stars In Your Eyes" was issued as an extended 12" single.
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. The concert was advertised as a "Herbie Hancock Retrospective," and Miles Davis, who was several months into his temporary retirement, was advertised as playing with the V.S.O.P. group. According to concert attendees, on the night of the show a handwritten sign was posted on the lobby door announcing that Davis would not be playing, but that Hubbard would be appearing instead.
Directstep is the twenty-fourth studio album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released exclusively in Japan on January 21, 1979, via the Japanese CBS/Sony label. Participating musicians include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, keyboardist Webster Lewis, bass guitarist Paul Jackson, guitarist Ray Obiedo, percussionist Bill Summers, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon.
Flood is the second live album, and sixteenth album overall, by American jazz pianist and keyboardist Herbie Hancock. Recorded live in Tokyo, the album was originally released exclusively in Japan in 1975 as a double LP 洪水, reads kōzui meaning flood. It features The Headhunters performing selections from the albums Maiden Voyage, Head Hunters, Thrust, and Man-Child –– with the latter album still two months away from release at the time of these concerts.
Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! is a 1978 studio album by Quincy Jones.
