Herbie Hancock

Personal Info

Known For

Sound

Known Credits

98

Gender

Male

Birthday

1940-04-12 (85 years old)

Place of Birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Herbie Hancock

Biography

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet", Hancock helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk. Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieved success among pop audiences. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit". His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award after Getz/Gilberto in 1965. As a member of Soka Gakkai, Hancock is an adherent of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism.

Known For

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

    The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

  • Great Performances

    Great Performances

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • Kulturzeit

    Kulturzeit

  • The Ellen DeGeneres Show

    The Ellen DeGeneres Show

  • The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

    The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

  • Girl Meets World

    Girl Meets World

  • Classic Albums

    Classic Albums

  • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

    Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

  • Indecent Proposal

    Indecent Proposal

  • Jay Leno's Garage

    Jay Leno's Garage

  • Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest

    Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest

  • ECHO-Verleihung

    ECHO-Verleihung

  • Wayne Shorter: Live at Montreux 1996

    Wayne Shorter: Live at Montreux 1996

  • Herbie Hancock - Live at SummerStage 2022

    Herbie Hancock - Live at SummerStage 2022

  • Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band Live in London

    Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band Live in London

  • Bobby McFerrin: Spontaneous Inventions

    Bobby McFerrin: Spontaneous Inventions

  • Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

    Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

  • Charles Lloyd - Arrows Into Infinity

    Charles Lloyd - Arrows Into Infinity

  • Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue

    Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue

  • The Making of Sun City

    The Making of Sun City

  • A Man's Story

    A Man's Story

  • Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

    Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

  • Kareem: Minority of One

    Kareem: Minority of One

  • Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes

    Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes

  • Miles Davis: Around Midnight

    Miles Davis: Around Midnight

  • StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson

    StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson

  • It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story

    It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story

  • Prachtig 80: Volume 2

    Prachtig 80: Volume 2

  • Marcus Miller - Master Of All Trades

    Marcus Miller - Master Of All Trades

  • Celebrity Guide to Wine

    Celebrity Guide to Wine

  • Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind

    Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind

  • On the Shoulders of Giants

    On the Shoulders of Giants

  • Herbie Hancock: Jazz Channel

    Herbie Hancock: Jazz Channel

  • Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

    Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

  • The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock

    The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock

  • Herbie Hancock At The Munich Summer Piano Festival

    Herbie Hancock At The Munich Summer Piano Festival

  • Larry presents: Best of The 80s

    Larry presents: Best of The 80s

  • Hargrove

    Hargrove

  • Herbie Hancock Trio - Full Concert - 08/14/88 - Newport Jazz Festival

    Herbie Hancock Trio - Full Concert - 08/14/88 - Newport Jazz Festival

  • River of Gold

    River of Gold

  • Hitters

    Hitters

  • Tribute to Miles - Jazz à Vienne

    Tribute to Miles - Jazz à Vienne

  • Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes

    Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes

  • Rock Concert

    Rock Concert

  • The Neville Brothers: Tell It Like It Is

    The Neville Brothers: Tell It Like It Is

  • Herbie

    Herbie

  • Herbie Hancock Future2future Live

    Herbie Hancock Future2future Live

  • Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound

    Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound

  • By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem

    By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem

  • 'Round Midnight

    'Round Midnight

  • Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

    Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

  • Branford Marsalis: Steep

    Branford Marsalis: Steep

  • Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis

    Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis

  • That Click

    That Click

  • A MusiCares Tribute To Barbra Streisand

    A MusiCares Tribute To Barbra Streisand

  • Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones

    Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones

  • I Love Quincy

    I Love Quincy

  • Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens

    Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens

  • DeJohnette, Metheny, Holland, Hancock - Parallel Realities Live

    DeJohnette, Metheny, Holland, Hancock - Parallel Realities Live

  • Keep On Keepin’ On

    Keep On Keepin’ On

  • World of Rhythm: Live in Lugano

    World of Rhythm: Live in Lugano

  • Live at Munich Summer Piano Festiva

    Live at Munich Summer Piano Festiva

  • Experience Montreux

    Experience Montreux

  • Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra

    Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra

  • Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux

    Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux

  • The Girls in the Band

    The Girls in the Band

  • Miles Ahead

    Miles Ahead

  • Dejohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny in Concert

    Dejohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny in Concert

  • Music

    Music

  • We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial

    We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial

  • The Grammys

    The Grammys

  • One Night with Blue Note

    One Night with Blue Note

  • They All Came Out to Montreux

    They All Came Out to Montreux

  • Miles Davis - At La Villette

    Miles Davis - At La Villette

  • Jazz at the White House

    Jazz at the White House

  • More Than Jazz

    More Than Jazz

  • Jazz Under the Skies

    Jazz Under the Skies

  • All-Star Jazz Show: Live from The Ed Sullivan Theater

    All-Star Jazz Show: Live from The Ed Sullivan Theater

  • Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland: Parallel Realities Live... (Live at Mellon Jazz Festival)

    Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland: Parallel Realities Live... (Live at Mellon Jazz Festival)

  • PBS Soundstage 1974: Chick Corea & Return to Forever + Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters

    PBS Soundstage 1974: Chick Corea & Return to Forever + Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters

  • International Jazz Day Australia Concert 2019

    International Jazz Day Australia Concert 2019

  • Herbie Hancock - The River Of Possibilities Tour - Jazz a Vienne

    Herbie Hancock - The River Of Possibilities Tour - Jazz a Vienne

  • Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

    Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz

  • Lang Lang & Herbie Hancock - Live in Berlin

    Lang Lang & Herbie Hancock - Live in Berlin

  • Herbie Hancock Special

    Herbie Hancock Special

  • Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band

    Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band

  • Buster Williams Bass to Infinity

    Buster Williams Bass to Infinity

  • Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!

    Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!

  • Miles Davis Quintet: Milan 1964

    Miles Davis Quintet: Milan 1964

  • Before Midnight

    Before Midnight

  • Marcus

    Marcus

  • Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux

    Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux

  • Joni Mitchell - The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song

    Joni Mitchell - The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song

  • Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments

    Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments

  • Gustavo Dudamel and Herbie Hancock Celebrate Gershwin

    Gustavo Dudamel and Herbie Hancock Celebrate Gershwin

  • Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute

    Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute