10. Eddie Henderson: “Kudu” (from Heritage, 1976)
The mid-’70s found trumpeter Eddie Henderson inching away from the heady jazz fusion he helped Herbie Hancock create with Mwandishi into some of the more dance-oriented jazz he later recorded on Capitol Records. This Patrice Rushen-penned classic captures the sparkling energy of that transition. The syncopated rhythm, staccato horn riff, and Rushen’s incredible keyboards make the song sound like a lost Headhunters cut, with Henderson’s searing and smearing trumpet brilliance at the fore. Kyoto Jazz Massive delivered a blistering cover of it on 2004’s Blue Note Revisited.
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