Jazz Archives

Switching over to Blue Note, which was then reaping a fortune with Donald Byrd's R&B outfit, Eddie Henderson pursued a harder, earthier, more structured, funk-driven sound on his first album, while maintaining some of his marvelously spacier instincts for spice. Henderson continued to keep several components of the Herbie Hancock Septet together, for drummer Billy Hart, bassist Buster Williams, reedman Bennie Maupin, and now trombonist Julian Priester are back. But this time, Hancock is replaced by George Duke, and fusionaire bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Harvey Mason (late of the Headhunters) are added -- and these switches make much of the difference. Duke is as much of an techie as Herbie was; he delights in flaunting his Echoplex and burbling, shooting, twinkling synthesizer effects. Henderson himself is more into electronic echo and wah-wah effects than before, definitely pursuing the current Miles Davis line but in a brighter, more tonally brilliant manner, and Maupin has many impassioned and creepy (on bass clarinet) moments. The title track, a ruminative Henderson tune with a leaping funk beat, and Mason's archetypical funk workout "Hop Scotch" are the best cuts.

:::Review by Richard S. Ginell:::

Eddie Henderson - Sunburst (1975)

1. Explodition (6:34)
2. The Kumquat Kids (4:30)
3. Sunburst (5:46)
4. Involuntary Bliss (6:49)
5. Hop Scotch (3:52)
6. Galaxy (6:35)
7. We End In A Dream (3:10)

Credits
- Buster Williams / acoustic bass
- Alphonso Johnson / electric bass, effects
- Billy Hart / drums
- Harvey Mason / drums
- George Duke / electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer
- Bobby Hutcherson / marimba
- Bennie Maupin / saxophone, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, saxcello, bass clarinet
- Julian Priester / trombone, post horn
- Eddie Henderson / trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet

Other personnel
- Fred Catero / recording and remix engineer
- George Horn / mastering
-Skip Drinkwater / producer

Notes
1975 Vinyl LP, Sunburst, United States , Blue Note BN-LA464-G
2002 CD, Sunburst [Rare Groove Series] [Remastered], United States, Blue Note 7243 5 38698 2 3
Recorded and mixed at Wally Heider Recording Studios in San Francisco in March and April 1975

Perhaps the funkiest album of Herbie Hancock's early- to mid-'70s jazz/funk/fusion era, Man-Child starts off with the unforgettable "Hang Up Your Hang Ups," and the beat just keeps coming until the album's end. "Sun Touch" and "Bubbles" are slower, but funky nonetheless. Hancock is the star on his arsenal of keyboards, but guitarist Wah Wah Watson's presence is what puts a new sheen on this recording, distinguishing it from its predecessors, Head Hunters and Thrust. Others among the all-star cast of soloists and accompanists include Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, Stevie Wonder on chromatic harmonica, and longtime Hancock cohort Bennie Maupin on an arsenal of woodwinds.

Bass - Henry Davis , Louis Johnson , Paul Jackson (2)
Drums - Harvey Mason , James Gadson , Mike Clark (2)
Engineer - David Rubinson , Fred Catero , Jack Leahy
Guitar - David T. Walker , Dewayne McKnight
Guitar, Guitar [Voice Bag] - Wah Wah Watson*
Harmonica - Stevie Wonder
Mastered By - George Horn , Phil Brown
Percussion - Bill Summers
Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Clavinet [Hohner D6], Synthesizer [Arp Odyssey], Synthesizer [Pro Soloist], Synthesizer [2600], Synthesizer [String Ensemble], Synthesizer [Oberheim Polyphonic] - Herbie Hancock
Producer - David Rubinson , David Rubinson , Herbie Hancock
Saxophone [Soprano] - Wayne Shorter
Saxophone [Soprano], Saxophone [Tenor], Saxophone [Saxello], Clarinet [Bass], Flute [Bass], Flute [Alto] - Bennie Maupin
Saxophone, Flute - Ernie Watts , Jim Horn
Trombone - Garnett Brown
Trumpet - Bud Brisbois , Jay DaVersa
Tuba, Trombone [Bass] - Dick Hyde