Paul Jackson

Exactly.

So you coming into a space with the Wayne lenses, with the Paul Jackson juniors, the Earl Cooney's, the Dave Della homes, the Kevin records and the don't miss team, the don't miss team.

So what, what, so what happens then is like, but you can't miss.

No, you can't, you can't, you can't miss.

all Cart.

So we basically, having the guys in the session, I was like, let's jam a little bit, pick a tonal center, and we had that, and we went for a while, and then Cart went in the studio and just made it his own, and he added a ton of that percussion, it's got, it's a 78, my 78 P bass on it, I had to get that on record, and it's got that, to me, that's the Paul Jackson, like I went for like all, every Herbie Hancock, every Ed Hunters thing I've ever heard, upper register, you know, like just playing time, so totally the right, you know, the right wheelhouse that you just mentioned.

Yeah, but I do hear elements, at least it reminds me of some of the stuff that Stanley Clark was doing, kind of in sound and approach.

I don't know.

The Bay Area's club circuit offered more experimental freedom than New York's clubs, yet it also meant performers had to be multi-instrumentalists and juggle gigs just to survive.

Hancock saw that rhythm section players, like Paul Jackson on bass and Bill Summers on percussion, could bring a funk groove that was both danceable and technically demanding.

The musical problem Hancock tackled was how to preserve the spontaneous, improvisational spirit of jazz while embedding it in a groove that could sustain an entire song on its own.

He realized that traditional acoustic piano had limitations for creating those punchy, percussive textures.

Electric keyboards and early synthesizers offered new sonic palettes.

By layering a steady funk bass line with syncopated synth pads, He created a foundation where solos could rise without losing the rhythmic anchor.

Recording Headhunters at Wally Heider Studios in September 1973, Hancock assembled Benny Maupin on tenor sax and flute, Harvey Mason on drums, Paul Jackson on electric bass, and Bill Summers on congas.

They worked in a late-night session that felt more like a jam than a studio date.