Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock, born Herbert Jeffrey Hancock on April 12th, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois is an American jazz musician.  Herbie is able to play the piano, keyboard, compose and act. His musical journey began when Herbie heard jazz musician Chris Anderson play in 1960 and decided he wanted to study and play jazz music. He taught himself harmony and trained his ear while quickly becoming known as a child piano prodigy.

He began his career in 1963 as a member of the second iteration of the Miles Davis Quintet. Miles Davis personally sought out Herbie as news of his musical talent spread. While playing in Davis’s band, Herbie also recorded some sessions for the Blue Note label. Here he worked in conjunction with artists such as Shorter, Williams, Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson, Rivers, Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, and Lee Morgan.

In 1964 Herbie released the album Empyrean Isles and followed up in 1965 with the album Maiden Voyage. Maiden Voyage spawned the hit single “Cantaloop.” These two albums are considered a standard of excellence in the jazz community. In 1996 Herbie signed with Warner Brother Music and composed the soundtrack to Hey, It’s Fat Albert. From 1971 to 1973 Herbie experimented with electronic music with the release of the albums Miwandishi, Crossings, and Sextant. Herbie released 30 more albums and soundtracks up to 2017 and has won 14 Grammy Award and one Academy Award for his musical production.