The 50th anniversary celebration tour of The Headhunters pulled into New York City for a packed set of funky jazz in a historic Greenwich Village venue on Wednesday night October 25th, exactly 50 years to the day that the album Headhunters was released. Café Wha? was sold out for the early show as the classic outfit sounded fresh and modern, delivering an hour-and-a-half-long set of goodness.
While the group famously came together backing Herbie Hancock fifty years ago, two old-school Headhunters are keeping the beats and time as Bill Summers (percussion) and Mike Clark (drums) lead the band, celebrating a lifetime of engaging music. Joining the percussionists are some of New Orleans’ finest as none other than the legendary Donald Harrison plays alto sax, the fantastic Kyle Roussel (Preservation Hall Jazz Band) is on keys, and groove Jedi Chris Severin (Dr. John) is on bass. On this night the group was also expertly augmented by the scratches of DJ Logic as well.
The world-class collection of players wasted no time laying down “Four String Drive” as each of the artists worked in the deep groove and were given time to solo, with the DJ scratches in-between each solo (including DJ Logic’s own) adding a unique new dimension. The funky jazz of “Rocking At The Mole House” was up next, shining the spotlight on Harrison and Roussel who traded solos back and forth before Summers cut things short, apologizing that their time was limited and they needed to move one, yet Roussel and Harrison could have kept dueling all night.
Written and recorded in 1974, “Palm Grease” may have been the set highlight as the tune was less about soloing and more about jamming together pushing forward around sax runs, deep funky bass, DJ scratches, and excellent percussion. Unfortunately, this song was cut a bit short as well, but the band moved into hard bop territory as DJ Logic took a breather and Clark directed everyone through a spin of the Wayne Shorter classic “E.S.P” which featured percolating sax and a drum solo that motored.
After some short singalongs (in multiple languages) from Summers, he started blowing into a beer bottle to signal the start of “Watermelon Man”. The group eased into the classic with silky smooth sax work from Harrison, nuanced percussive beats, a deep bass groove, and timely interjections from Logic who was a perfect addition to the group.
With more than half the band being from New Orleans the tone shifted for the finale as “Hey Pocky A-way” was expertly led by the Big Chief Harrison who sang the joyous number, revving up the crowd as The Headhunters concluded a strong set of music on a high note. The only downside was that they couldn’t keep playing for longer but as Summers stated mid-show, “We are the keepers of the frequency” and they certainly proved that to the sold-out NYC crowd.
One Response
Shawn, you really captured a great, high-spirited show!