Herbie Hancock returns to ‘Head Hunters’ birthplace for 2 big concerts

Herbie Hancock has a long history in the Bay Area.

The legendary jazz man recorded a number of his finest albums of the ’70s in San Francisco, including “Thrust,” “Sextant,” “Mwandishi” and — arguably his most widely praised full-length outing — the seminal jazz-funk-fusion outing “Head Hunters.”

Recently, we had the chance to chat with the 84-year-old Los Angeles resident, who was looking forward to returning to the Bay Area for two big shows.

On Saturday, the pianist/composer/bandleader — known for such jazz standards as “Cantaloupe Island,” “Watermelon Man,” “Maiden Voyage” and “Chameleon” — headlines the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, a three-day music event running Aug. 9-11and also featuring the Family Stone, Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Ms. Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and so much more. Tickets start at $43.80; summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.

Hancock also performs on Sunday at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco. The show is free, but tickets need to be reserved in advance at this venue. Visit sterngrove.org for details.

The following week, Hancock is set to reunite his incredible Head Hunters band to perform a 50th anniversary celebration of the group’s 1973 album at the Hollywood Bowl. The show will feature all of the surviving original members — Hancock, drummer Harvey Mason, woodwind player Bennie Maupin and percussionist Bill Summers — with bassist Marcus Miller standing in for the late great Paul Jackson. For more information, visit hollywoodbowl.com.

Q: Did you have any idea that you were on to something special when you first went into the studio in San Francisco to start recording “Head Hunters”?

A: Not nearly like it really turned out — that it became a huge hit record. I had no idea about anything having to do with hit records. Because the band I had before was a very avant-garde jazz (outfit) — like really spacey, untethered band that we finally called Mwandishi.

My thoughts were just trying to make the best record I could. And I had been influenced by listening to James Brown and Sly Stone — another Bay Area person. I had been listening to that even when I had that Mwandishi band. I decided, “Wait a minute. I’m from Chicago — that’s a blues town. Why don’t I go back to some of my roots and play something that comes from that?” And that’s when I did the “Head Hunters” record.

Q: Was the Head Hunters project an immediate success? Or was it more of a slow build in terms of winning over fans?

A: I’ll give you an experience I had. While we were in San Francisco putting that record together — and I was there for several days if not a couple of weeks — we wanted to see if young people would react to (this music). That’s what Dave Rubinson and I were talking about. So, he said, “How about if we just book a gig to play like one night in a club in San Francisco and see what happens?”

So, we were able to book that and when our band came on, and we started playing, people went nuts. Everybody was on the dancefloor and everyone was screaming. We were looking at each other like, “What’s going on?” I’d never seen a reaction like that to anything I’d ever done.

I said, “I think we’d better go back in the studio and make that record.”

Q: That’s really cool. They loved you guys!

A: On the other hand … At that time, records done in America would be released here maybe about a month or so before they were released in Europe, for example. So, I went to do a European tour with the Head Hunters band and we got to Germany and we were playing in Berlin — at like the biggest concert hall they have there. And it was sold out. I had been there the year before with the more avant-garde band and that did very well in Europe.

But then we started playing with the Head Hunters band with the electric bass — not the acoustic bass. They got really mad and started shouting out loud and throwing food.

Q: Watch out for flying pretzels and bratwurst!

A: Yeah, right. (Laughs) We just played right through it — kept playing our set. Those people were just outraged that we weren’t playing what they expected us to play. We finished. We bowed. We got booed. We walked off the stage.

One year later, we go back and we play the same venue — and it was full again. We started the Head Hunters tunes and they are all dancing. It was a complete turnaround.

Q: That album was part of the whole jazz-fusion movement and it really helped introduce you to a new generation of listeners. And, more than 50 years later, people are still grooving and dancing to those tunes.

A: That was a beginning that I never anticipated — never expected. I wasn’t really shooting for that. Because that was not in my way of thinking. I just wanted to put a different spin on elements that did influence me.