BST 84376

Bobby Hutcherson - Head On

Released - November 1971

Recording and Session Information

Poppi Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA, July 1, 1971
Oscar Brashear, trumpet, flugelhorn; George Bohanon, Louis Spears, trombone; Willie Ruff, French horn; Fred Jackson, piccolo; Harold Land, tenor sax, flute; Delbert Hill, Charles Owens, Herman Riley, Ernie Watts, reeds; Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, marimba; Todd Cochran, piano, arranger; William Henderson, electric piano; Reggie Johnson or James Leary III, bass; Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, Woody Theus, drums; Warren Bryant, congas, bongos; Robert Jenkins, unknown instruments; Donald Smith, vocals.

8065 (tk.4) Clockwork Of The Spirits
8060 (tk.5) At The Source, Part 1 - Ashes And Rust
8063 Many Thousands Gone

Poppi Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA, July 3, 1971
Oscar Brashear, trumpet, flugelhorn; George Bohanon, Louis Spears, trombone; Fred Jackson, piccolo; Harold Land, tenor sax, flute; Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, marimba; Todd Cochran, piano, arranger; Reggie Johnson, bass; Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, Woody Theus, drums; Warren Bryant, congas, bongos.

8064 (tk.2) Mtume
8062 At The Source, Part 3 - Obsidian
8061 At The Source, Part 2 - Eucalyptus

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
At the Source: Ashes & Rust	Todd Cochran	July 1 1971
At the Source: Eucalyptus	Todd Cochran	July 3 1971
At the Source: Obsidian	Todd Cochran	July 3 1971
Many Thousands Gone	Todd Cochran	July 1 1971
Side Two
Mtume	Bobby Hutcherson	July 3 1971
Clockwork of the Spirits	Todd Cochran	July 1 1971

Liner Notes

He looks astonishingly at peace as he stands there. Perhaps he's thinking about his music or about some elusive truth of life. He might be drifting, restfully asea inside. Maybe he's just goofing. Anyway, he looks content, and quiet.

Then he begins to play: flames dance, crystal shatters, waves break darkly, sparks of sun seem to glance of the mirror-coolness of the vibes' metal bars. This is the musician as imagist, as conjuror, the real-time composer of aural scenery, a bright and vivid jazz pointillist.

He hides behind sunglasses, a woolen cap, sometimes still-faced, sometimes smiling the smile of someone who knows. For when the current flows, when the arc arches, dazzling between the mallets and the bars, there is nothing left unopened, nothing left unsaid. It's Bobby Hutcherson, and his music, head on.

2008 CD Reissue Liner Notes

Through nearly five decades, Bobby Hutcherson has made intelligent, adventurous music on his instrument of choice. Once a "miscellaneous instrument," the vibraphone, when Bobby played it, took on a vital modern quality. The music that Hutcherson has always made has a sense of the tradition as it had been embodied by Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, but also the new colors and textures brought out by the artist's exploration of the harmonic and sonic possibilities of the vibes. Hutcherson has always been a fusion artist in the best sense — he has taken the jazz vocabulary of swing and bebop and mixed elements from the rest of the musical world. Yes, he blended jazz and pop, but it was always with the goal of augmenting the music's expressive qualities. And very often he found increased richness in the sounds of contemporary classical music and larger ensembles.

Head On is Hutcherson's 1971 recording that highlights the music of Todd Cochran, a classically trained composer, arranger, and pianist. San Francisco-born Cochran had a great deal of commercial recording experience but was always eager to do more creatively inventive projects. Head On seems to be an extension of some of the work that Bobby contributed to the Blue Note Meets the L A Philharmonic recording and to larger-scale groups that show up as bonus tracks on his Now! The compositions reflect a large palette of influences and manage somehow to be both challenging and accessible. In the late-1960s and early-1970s, such fusions were possible -— and Hutcherson's ventures in this area were never short of fascinating and can be compared favorably to similar experiments by Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, and the like.

The set begins with a work called "At the Source" — a suite in three parts that suggests natural beginnings as the music emerges in deft orchestral colors from a kind of shapeless deep. IVs similar in that sense to the development in such works as The Rite of Spring. What arises out of the opening is that extraordinary Hutcherson vibe sound. It's lush and beautiful but also otherwordly as Bobby and the composer on piano play softly in Part 2 ("Eucalyptus") and then introduces the quintet with Bobby's oh-time partner Harold Land on tenor sax, Reggie Johnson on bass, and Stix Hooper on drums. The sections of the suite work separately as intimate tone poems but also as a thoughtfully-conceived unified work.

"Many Thousands Gone" is more indicative of the expansiveness of some of the period's other works. There's a fanfare-like opening followed by a percussive solo by bassist James Leary. Things continue to open up and out with a long, undulating marimba solo over a furious rhythm section. Harold Land and Oscar Brashear follow with intense, impassioned solos — Brashear is on flugelhorn - and then comes the composer on an electric piano with a sound and style that is so typical of the time.

Bobby contributed one tune to the original set — the propulsive "Mtume" - a tribute to the percussionist/keyboardist from the '70s who turned to urban/contemporary funk in the '80s. The piece churns along aided by percussion and has the feeling of one of those large-group McCoy Tyner numbers of the period. Bobby's solo again transforms the metal of the instrument into the warmer lyricism that prevails despite the powerful rhythms of the tune. Hutcherson plays both vibes and marimba and works his notes through a world of color. Land comes out of the density with yet another beautifully fervent statement that helped make him a perfect partner for Hutcherson, a complement as well as a brother.

Airier woodwind sounds — flute, bassoon, etc. — introduce "Clockwork of the Spirits." The tone and mood are more delicate here and the players contribute appropriately. Land is never less than right there in the heart of the music and, as throughout, the rhythm players keep the pulse and make their own singular sounds. Thus, the original album closed with unusual intimacy and deft harmonic movement.

Three extended pieces are added here as a most generous bonus — over 43 minutes of extra music! (That's like a whole extra record!) "Togo Land" is a 15-minute-plus place painting. The work moves ever forward with some killer ensemble work that frames forceful and long solo passages from Harold Land, Hutcherson, and Cochran that snake and dance over thick walls of percussion sounds. Think of this work as orchestrated jam band music that allows for both rumination and body movement.

"Jonathan" is a Latin-ish tune in which the lighter airy textures are at the fore. The ensemble plays the ballad-like theme with some nicely odd fills by the horns and then comes one of Bobby's classic solos. It's lyrical and delicate but also has a metallic, percussive tone that moves it into some darker and more intricate waters. Land, too, plays forcefully and personally.

"Hey Harold" is dedicated by Hutcherson to — who else? — the late, great Mr. Land. It's an electric, jazz/ rock romp that features muted trumpets and flute in the theme and a texture that's rife with color and rhythm. The tune keeps coming with a danceable pulse that the percussion section ably executes. It's a wonderful, long groove with piccolo birdcalls, a deft mix of electric piano and electric bass — Cochran and Reggie Johnson. The solos weave in and out of the main texture of the tune and so it becomes a total creation rather than a theme and a string of solos.

Bobby Hutcherson has remained an elemental force in the creation of vital music. He records less in this first decade of the 21st century, but his recordings and his performances, like his notes, are beautifully and selectively chosen. He's a compelling soloist, an imaginative composer, and a force for what's good about modern jazz.

— DONALD ELFMAN, 2008

75th Anniversary Reissue Notes

"Head On" was a departure for Bobby Hutcherson. This 1971 project was made during the life of the Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land Quintet, but the music here features an orchestra of varying sizes and the compositions and arrangements of Todd Cochran, who has since become a successful record producer and film composer in Los Angeles.

Four of the seven pieces were on the original album. The last three were originally issued in 2008 as part of the first CD release. The music is expansive and all the tracks offer rhythmic density with three to five drummer/percussionists on each track. The compositions have a wide range of influences and Cochran is able to use the large ensemble to his advantage with airy woodwind passages, powerful brass writing and swirling rhythms over which Hutcherson, Cochran, Land and Oscar Brashear solo.

Cochran manages to combine structure and discipline with free-flowing exciting solos and rhythms. And the bonus tracks are every bit as good as the original album.

- MICHAEL CUSCUNA