Bobby Hutcherson: Head On

Both albums feature Hutcherson's regular quintet of the time—with tenor saxophonist Harold Land and trumpeter Oscar Brashear—augmented by horns and percussion arranged by pianist Todd Cochran. Both are adventurous conceptions reflecting the era's restless search for new ideas and new directions.

By the late 1960s, Blue Note had been absorbed by the Liberty group of labels based in Los Angeles and, coincidentally or not, a West Coast counter-culture vibe spread amongst its artists, who recalibrated their music with bells, incense and percussion, rock and funk bass ostinatos and drum rhythms, and extended deep grooves. Some of this music has been collected on the excellent double-CD Righteousness (Blue Note, 2006).

With Harold Land, Hutcherson made his move with the blackism-infused Slow Change (Blue Note, 1969), featuring vocalist and songwriter Gene McDaniels. The George Butler-produced Head On was a partial return to hard bop verities. The original album—the four tracks "At The Source" through "Clockwork Of The Spirits"—is, Cochran's Gil Evans inspired intro and outro orchestrations aside, essentially a percussion heavy shot of late period hard bop, given a post-Bitches Brew vibe by William Henderson's Fender Rhodes. It brims with lush and lyrical Hutcherson solos on vibraphone and marimba, and rougher and more fervent ones from Land and Brashear. There are rock and funk traces, but at heart the music is classic hard bop.

The three previously unissued tracks—particularly the 16-minute "Togo Land" and 18-minute "Hey Harold"—are something else again, closer in feel to trumpeter Donald Byrd's extended, majestic, funk masterpiece "The Emperor" from Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1971), also recorded in Los Angeles in summer 1971 with Butler producing, and also featuring Hutcherson and Land. Both tracks, topped and tailed by Cochran's orchestrations, are driven by mesmeric, heavy bass ostinatos and fat drum backbeats, over which Hutcherson, Land and Henderson stretch out with relish. "The Emperor" remains the sina qua non of this torrid little genre, but "Togo Land" and "Hey Harold" both get righteously close. Glorious, gorgeous stuff.

One excellent album returned to availability. One brand new album unearthed. Head On is a double delight.

Comments