Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock Headshot

Pianist • Bandleader • Composer

Birth Date: April 12, 1940

Age: 83 years old

Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois

One of modern jazz music's true game-changers, pianist, composer and bandleader Herbie Hancock continually helped to redefine the genre by embracing a broad variety of styles and new technology, while still retaining his traditional roots. A former child prodigy, Hancock evolved into a first-rate adult musician when he became both an integral member of Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet and a key signing of the Blue Note label, where he recorded dozens of sessions as a sideman and a string of influential solo LPs which pioneered the post-bop style. Hancock went onto form several of his own forward-thinking backing bands, release a ground-breaking trilogy which introduced the jazz world to synths, and cross over to the MTV generation with a number of pop-oriented hits and attention-grabbing videos. Hancock maintained his impossible-to-pigeonhole reputation throughout the 80s and 90s by tackling everything from Oscar-winning film scores to the standards of Ira and George Gershwin. But it was in the 21st Century where he achieved his commercial peak thanks to various high-profile collaborative records and an Album of the Year Grammy-winning tribute to Joni Mitchell.

Born in Chicago, IL, in 1940, Hancock studied classical music from the age of seven, and had soloed in the first movement of a Mozart piano concerto with his hometown's Symphony Orchestra by the time he reached eleven. After graduating from Iowa's Grinnell College, where he majored in Electrical Engineering and Music, Hancock was taken under the wing of legendary blues trumpeter Donald Byrd, who offered him a place in his New York group, and encouraged him to work with neo-romantic composer Vittorio Giannini. In 1962, Hancock signed to Blue Note Records and released his debut album, Takin' Off, which not only spawned a future hit for Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria ("Watermelon Man"), but also attracted the attention of Miles Davis, who then invited him to join what would retroactively be known as his Second Great Quintet. Hancock spent five years in the group where he influenced Davis almost as much as Davis influenced him, popularizing chords previously unheard of in jazz, absorbing modern classical influences and developing an improvisational concept known as "time, no changes."
Hancock also continued to enjoy a fruitful solo career during this period, in addition to recording dozens of sessions as a sideman with the likes of Creed Taylor, Bobby Hutcherson and Lee Morgan. 1964's Empyrean Isles and 1965's Maiden Voyage, a concept album intended to create an oceanic atmosphere, were hailed as two of the finest jazz albums of the decade. 1966's Blowup, the official soundtrack to Michelangelo Antonioni's murder mystery, proved to be the first of many successful ventures into the world of film. After parting company with Davis in 1968, Hancock signed with Warner Bros. Records, formed his very own highly-influential jazz-rock sextet, and veered into funk territory on the score for Bill Cosby's animated television show, "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" (CBS, 1972-1985). Having doubled up on the electric keyboard during his final year in Davis' band, Hancock continued to incorporate various new instruments into his work, most notably the synthesiser on an avant-garde album trilogy titled in honor of his Swahili name, Mwandishi.

A conversion to Buddhism inspired a more positive, and ultimately more commercial, change in direction, and after founding a new Sly Stone-esque funk outfit called The Headhunters, he released one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time with an LP of the same name. Hancock recorded a further two albums (Thrust and Man-Child) with the group, composed soundtracks for politically-charged drama "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" (1973) and vigilante thriller "Death Wish" (1974) and flirted with the sounds of the Caribbean on 1976's Secrets, before joining forces with former Second Great Quintet bandmates Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard for several reunion tours and live albums under the name of V.S.O.P. Undeterred at the sell-out accusations levelled at him, Hancock continued to target the mainstream with a string of disco-themed LPs in which he also relied heavily on the vocoder, but still kept one foot in traditional jazz territory with collaborative efforts with Wynton Marsalis and the formation of the Herbie Hancock Trio.

A much younger audience were introduced to his talents in 1983 when Future Shock spawned only his second US Hot 100 entry, "Rockit." One of the first hit singles to feature the art of scratching, the futuristic piece of synth-funk also gave Hancock his first ever Grammy and became an unlikely staple of MTV thanks to a striking Godley and Creme-directed video in which various robot-like sculptures moved in time to the track. Hancock then added to his awards tally in 1987 when his soundtrack to "'Round Midnight" (1986), the Parisian-based musical drama he also appeared in, won the Oscar for Best Original Score. Following a brief foray into techno-pop on 1988's Perfect Machine, Hancock took a six-year break from the studio before returning with the double whammy of A Tribute To Miles and Dis is da Drum, while in 1995, he tackled hit songs from artists as diverse as Nirvana, Stevie Wonder and The Beatles on The New Standard. Hancock returned to more traditional fare in 1998 when he put his own spin on various Great American Songbook standards composed by Ira and George Gershwin, and three years later, recruited Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove for a tour and Grammy-winning live LP (Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall) celebrating the works of his former mentor Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. But 2001's Future2Future, an electronic-based affair which utilized the talents of The X-Ecutioners' turntablist Rob Swift and techno producer Carl Craig proved Hancock still had his finger on the pulse. Likewise 2005 duets album Possibilities, which saw him join forces with pop artists both established (Annie Lennox, Sting) and emerging (Joss Stone, Lisa Hannigan). But it was his next venture, 45 years into his career, that proved to be his crowning glory. A tribute album to his long-time friend Joni Mitchell, 2007's River: The Joni Letters featured guest appearances from Leonard Cohen, Corinne Bailey Rae and the Canadian folk singer herself, reached a career high of number five on the Billboard 200, and famously beat the likes of Kanye West's Graduation and Amy Winehouse's Back in Black to the Album of the Year Grammy Award in 2008. The record's surprise success sparked a huge interest in Hancock's back catalogue, resulting in a number of reissues and compilations. But 2010's The Imagine Project, a star-studded and cross-cultural affair featuring the likes of Mali collective Tinariwen, Chicano rockers Los Lobos and Somali-Canadian poet K'Naan, proved that instead of looking back, Hancock was still far more interested in pushing jazz music forward.

Credits

International Jazz Day From the United Nations

Music Performer
Show
2023

Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

Music Performer
Special
2023

Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon

Self
Special
2022

Jazz à Vienne

Music Performer
Show
2022

Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes

Self
Show
2022

International Jazz Day Celebration

Music Performer
Show
2022

The 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Music Performer
Show
2021

The Herbie Hancock Trio

Music Performer
Show
2021

Live at Mister Kelly'sStream

Self
Movie
2021
100%

In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

Music Performer
Show
2020

United We Sing: A Grammy Tribute to the Unsung Heroes

Music Performer
Show
2020

International Jazz Day From St. Petersburg

Music Performer
Show
2019

The 41st Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Music Performer
Show
2018

International Jazz Day From Cuba

Music Performer
Show
2018

Poetry in America

Guest
Show
2018

Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes

Self
Movie
2018

The Breakfast Couch

Guest
Show
2017

Charlie Pickering: My Guest Tonight

Guest
Show
2017

Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America

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Show
2017

Valerian and the City of a Thousand PlanetsStream

Actor
Defence Minister
Movie
2017
48%

`Tribute to Miles Davis' by Hancock / Miller / Shorter

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2016

Jazz at the White House

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2016

River of Gold

Narrator
Movie
2016

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

Guest
Show
2015

International Jazz Day

Music Performer
Show
2015

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards

Music Performer
Show
2015

Marcus

Actor
Movie
2015

Jaco

Actor
Movie
2015

The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

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2014

Girl Meets WorldStream

Guest Star
Catfish Willie Slim
Series
2014

Glastonbury

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2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Music Performer
Talk
2014

Umbria Jazz: Miles Davis Tribute

Music Performer
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2014

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Opening Gala Season 2011/2012

Music Performer
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2013

Lang Lang Featuring Herbie Hancock in Berlin

Music Performer
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2013

CBS This Morning

Guest
Show
2012

Charles Lloyd: Arrows Into Infinity

Actor
Movie
2012

Amazon Gold

Narrator
Movie
2012

The 34th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Music Performer
Show
2011

BET Honors

Actor
Show
2011

An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Chaka Khan

Music Performer
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2011

Paul McCartney: In Performance at the White House

Music Performer
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2010

The First Time With

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2010

The Music Videos That Shaped the 80s

Self
Show
2010

On the Shoulders of Giants

Original Music
Movie
2010

The 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Guest
Show
2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Music Performer
Talk
2009

Miles Davis: Miles Electric - A Different Kind of Blue

Self
Show
2008

An Evening With Quincy Jones

Host
Show
2008

Santana: Hymns for Peace Live at Montreux 2004

Music Performer
Show
2007

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

Original Music
Movie
2006

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

Self
Movie
2006

Tavis Smiley

Guest
Talk
2004

Herbie Hancock: Hardrock

Music Performer
Show
2004

Herbie Hancock: Rockit

Music Performer
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2004

Herbie Hancock: Vibe Alive

Music Performer
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2004

Jazz Record Requests

Guest
Show
2002

Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz

Actor
Movie
1997

Late Show With David Letterman

Music Performer
Talk
1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Music Performer
Talk
1992

Harlem NightsStream

Original Music
Movie
1989
26%

ColorsStream

Original Music
Movie
1988
77%

The George McKenna Story

Original Music
Movie
1986

Round MidnightStream

Actor
Eddie Wayne
Movie
1986
96%

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling

Original Music
Movie
1986

Mike Hammer

Guest Star
Series
1984

A Soldier's StoryStream

Original Music
Movie
1984
91%

Herbie Hancock: Autodrive

Music Performer
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1983

BR-Klassik im TV

Actor
Show
1980

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

Austin City LimitsStream

Music Performer
Series
1976

Saturday Night LiveStream

Music Performer
Series
1975

Great PerformancesStream

Music Performer
Franchise
1972

Blow-UpStream

Original Music
Movie
1966
87%

Today

Music Performer
News
1952