Funk on the Airwaves: Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters’ 1975 Midnight Special Set
This is what happens when The Headhunters show up on TV and decide to melt the floor
It is 1975. Herbie Hancock brings the band onto The Midnight Special and they kick things off with Watermelon Man. Then they slide straight into Chameleon like it is no big deal. Paul Jackson does not waste a second. He is already in motion before the tune even settles. Every note has bounce. Every fill feels like it is grinning at you
Mike Clark is locked in. Herbie is pulling sounds out of his keys like he is tuning up a UFO. And Jackson is skating through it all. Not showing off. Just leading from underneath with groove and control
Chameleon is where it really stretches. The lines get nastier. The sync gets deeper. The pocket somehow gets even wider
The band looks like they are having a blast. Jackson barely looks up but every bar is nailed. The feel is alive. The crowd probably did not know what hit them.
No Treble CEO Jody Miller is a Chicago-based bassist, guitarist, engineer, and producer best known for his bass gear demo videos and as the co-host of The Bass Nerds podcast.
On my to buy list is The Essential Herbie Hancock. I absolutely love his song Rockit. It brings back fond memories of that year, 1983. Herbie Hancock is one of the all time greats. ✌️