Herbie Hancock and Friends - Spotlight (Day 5)

We have a nice group of albums to look at today - as we move into 1975. A consistent player we've seen on bass to this point is Buster Williams. 1975 saw the release of his album Pinnacle featuring Woody Shaw and Sonny Fortune. I really dig this album and nearly forgot that a few of the tracks contain vocals. I've included a separate copy along with the original. 

Buster Williams - Double and electric bass.
Sonny Fortune - Flute, alto flute and soprano saxophone.
Woody Shaw - Trumpet.
Earl Turbinton - Bass clarinet and soprano saxophone.
Onaje Allan Gumbs - Piano, electric piano, synthesizer.
Guilherme Franco - Percussion.
Billy Hart - Drums.

Up first we have "The Hump" which is an 11 minute tune featuring a nearly bruk-styled rhythm from Williams and drummer Billy Hart. I really dig the bass clarinet from Turbinton on this one. Next up is "Noble Ego" which opens with Buster playing solo as the rest of the rhythm section slowing joins in. No horns on this one. The title track is up next and is another great composition from Williams. "Tayamisha" is a nice, straight ahead tune before we close with the Gumbs tune, "Batuki" which is a touch freer than the rest of the album.

Next for us is an album that I forgot I enjoyed as much as I do until I listened to it again recently. More accessible than most of what we've encountered so far, Marching In The Street is the debut album from drummer Harvey Mason. It looks like Harvey used a variety of musicians on this one and this link shows the proper breakdown. Tracks 3-6, which include my favorites, "Hop Scotch" and "Wild Rice" are basically the Headhunters band with some additional horns. There are a little bit of vocals on the opening and closing tunes, but they're so minimal I didn't bother with instrumentals. Harvey went on to record a few more albums of note, "Earthmover" and "Funk In A Mason Jar" are both worth checking if you dig this sound. He merged more into Soul/R&B incorporating more vocals than I would prefer, but worth checking, nonetheless.

At some point in 1975, The Headhunters band, with Herbie as a producer only, starting recording music. Their debut album, Survival Of The Fittest, features guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight who's presence makes up for the lack of keyboards quite well. 

Bennie Maupin - Saxello, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, piano.
Paul Jackson - Electric bass.
Blackbyrd McKnight - Electric guitar. 
Bill Summers - Percussion.
Harvey Mason - Percussion.
Mike Clark - Drums.

Classics "God Make Me Funky" and "If You've Got It, You'll Get It" are the obvious choices here but "Daffy's Dance" is my personal favorite that features a great riff from Maupin on sax. A fun little record here. Again, a few vocals on this one and I've included a separate copy with the vocals removed.

Next up in 1975 for us is one of my absolute favorite albums in Eddie Henderson's Sunburst. 

Eddie Henderson - Trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn.
Bennie Maupin - Tenor saxophone, saxello and bass clarinet.
Julian Priester - Trombone and post horn.
George Duke - Fender Rhodes, clavinet and synthesizers.
Alphonso Johnson - Electric bass.
Buster Williams - Acoustic bass. 
Bobby Hutcherson - Marimba.
Harvey Mason - Drums.
Billy Hart - Drums. 

I could gush about this entire album but I'll try to keep it brief. First up we have a George Duke tune in "Explodition" which in my opinion is a masterpiece. The perfect tempo, just the right amount of funky, and every player contributing on their respective instruments. Henderson tune "Kumquat Kids" is next and nearly sounds like a b-side to Head Hunters. You may remember this one from The Keyboard Circle album. Johnson tune "Involuntary Bliss" starts off with a very melancholy sound as you'd expect from the title, but at the change the bassline switches up to a more hard rock vibe. Next up we have the Mason tune "Hop Scotch" that we heard on Marching In The Street, although I prefer the original version with Hancock on keys. Next up is "Galaxy" which is a favorite of mine and covered very nicely by UK keyboardist Alfa Mist, if you're interested. We close with the spacey Maupin tune "We End In A Dream" and that sums up the post for today and the first half of our look into 1975. 

Enjoy!