The Headhunters, one of the premier instrumental jazz-funk bands of all time, comes to The Stone Church in Newmarket Saturday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. Joining original band percussionist Bill Summers and drummer Mike Clark will be saxophonist Donald Harrison, Jr., keyboardist Victor Atkins and Meter’s bassist George Porter Jr. for a night of hot instrumental funk.

Blending jazz, funk and world music, the Headhunters’ sound is timeless. It features the heated improvisations of Atkins and Harrison over the deep pocket grooves laid down by Porter, Clark and Summers. The result will be, as described by local radio personality and Press Room manager Bruce Pingree, a “slammin’ night of music!”

The Headhunters began back in the early 1970s. Pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, seeking new challenges in his music, disbanded a popular sextet he was fronting. With that group’s saxophonist Bennie Maupin, Hancock formed a new group, adding bassist Paul Jackson, drummer Harvey Mason and percussionist Bill Summers. Calling the band “Headhunters,” the group’s first self-titled recording on Columbia Records, released in 1973, became the first album to garner gold status in jazz history. The lead track, “Chameleon,” was an instant classic and is still a jam session staple to this day. Mason departed the band after that recording and was replaced by Mike Clark. The group’s follow-up recording, “Thrust” was released in 1974 and became an even bigger cult favorite, with bassists and drummers of all persuasions going to school on the hard-driving yet subtly complex work of Jackson and Clark. A live session called “Flood” followed in early 1975, though that recording has only been available as a Japanese import.

It was also in 1975 that Hancock decided to move on to other challenges, so Maupin, Jackson, Clark and Summers took over the band, signed with Arista Records and released “Survival of the Fittest” in 1976, with Blackbird McKnight on guitar. The album had an instant hit with the tune “God Make Me Funky.”

“That album was a killer,” says Pingree. “I was the station manager at WUNH at the time, and we were constantly playing that album, keeping it on the playlist for several months.”

The band would record one more album for Arista, 1978’s “Straight to the Gate,” before disbanding to pursue various individual projects. They reunited in 1998 and recorded “Return of the Headhunters,” following up with 2003’s “Evolution Revolution” on Basin Street Records.

Harrison and Atkins are both equally adept in the jazz and funk camps, but at the heart of The Headhunters’ sound is the interaction between Jackson, Clark and Summers, creating an intricate rhythmic mix that lays the foundation for the various musical colors emanating from the entire band.
Local drummer Peter Moutis offers some insight. “It all comes down to Clark’s conception,” Moutis said. “He’s an equally adept jazz drummer, so his approach is a little lighter and more linear than the typical ‘pound out the beat on two and four’ funk drummer. It’s much like the lighter sound you hear from the drummers in James Brown’s bands—light and forceful but not overpowering. Clark plays both styles with unerring certainty and in such an organic way that either approach sounds natural. And Summers fits in all these amazing percussive colors that always seem to be perfectly placed.”

Another important component in the group’s sound is bassist Paul Jackson. He maintains a regular presence in the band, but resides in Japan, so he can’t always make the live performances. This is where George Porter Jr. comes in.

“Porter is one of the best funk bass players ever,” says Pingree. “His work with the original Meters and the current Funky Meters makes him a natural to move into this spot. And he’ll add his own perspective to the music, as well. Plus, all the band members except for Clark, have a connection with New Orleans, so they’ll be bringing that aspect to the music as well.”

In short, it can be said that The Headhunters cross stylistic barriers easily without sounding forced or contrived. And their sound has a timeless appeal, which should make for an evening of burnin’ music at The Stone Church on Saturday.

The Headhunters
w/Amorphous Trio
The Stone Church, Newmarket
Saturday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m.
$23 in advance, $25 at the door
603-659-6321
www.thestonechurch.com