Artist Profile: Pianist Herbie Hancock

Born:

April 12th, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois.

Jazz Pianist, Composer, and Electronic Musician

Pianist Herbie Hancock rose to prominence in the mid 1960s, when he was invited to play in Miles Davis’ quintet. Partly thanks to Hancock’s innovative approach to accompanying and improvising, the quintet is now considered one of the most influential ensembles in jazz history. Since leaving Miles’ group, Hancock has dabbled in funk, avant-garde, electronic music, and film-scoring. Today he is regarded as one of the finest musicians in jazz history, and he continues to be an active and prolific performer.

Born in Chicago in 1940, Herbie showed early signs of talent at the piano. He studied classical music from a very young age, and when he was 11 years old, he was invited to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra along with other prodigal talents. He later attended Grinnell College in Iowa, where he studied music and electrical engineering, a combination of interests that perhaps led to his fascination with electronic instruments decades later.

Hancock began making a name for himself by performing with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins in Chicago. He befriended trumpeter Donald Byrd in his early 20s, who brought Hancock to New York City on a gig. There he stayed, studying classical composition at the Manhattan School of Music with Vittorio Giannini. In 1962, Hancock recorded the album Takin’ Off, which featured his hit song “Watermelon Man.” The following year, Miles Davis invited him to fill the piano chair in his band, which featured the young bassist Ron Carter, and the even younger drummer Tony Williams.

As a member of Miles’ group, which saw the addition of saxophonist Wayne Shorter in 1964, Hancock developed into one of the most innovative pianists of his time. He and his bandmates revolutionized the way a small ensemble functions, not only in terms of the various roles of the musicians, but also in the way that the group interprets the composed music.

The quintet often played standards, such as “My Funny Valentine,” “All of You,” and “Stella by Starlight,” but with such an openness to the musical possibilities of each tune that a familiar song would take multiple directions, and ultimately would be rendered almost unrecognizable. Hancock was known to play harmonies that weren’t typically heard in jazz, and that were inspired by composers such as Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. He also improvised with an unprecedented balance of virtuosity and romanticism, owing in part to his classical training.

During his five-year stint with Davis, Hancock recorded numerous quintessential albums as a leader and as a sideman. His album Maiden Voyage (Blue Note 1965), earned widespread popularity for its combination of groove, modal jazz, and hard-bop improvisation. He became an integral part of the 1960’s “Blue Note period,” named for the label’s profuse output during that decade, and recorded as a sideman with dozens of musicians including Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, and Kenny Dorham.

Avant-Garde, Funk, Electro

Hancock parted with Miles Davis’ group in 1968, and left Blue Note the following year. During the 1970s, his music increasingly incorporated funk and R&B, and Hancock began experimenting with electronic keyboards and synthesizers. His more avant-garde projects during this period are known as the Mwandishi albums, named after the Swahili moniker Hancock began using in the early ‘70s. He later formed the Headhunters in order to play more mainstream music, and earned popular acclaim by melding jazz and funk, but also criticism for straying too far from jazz.

In the 1980s, Hancock was a member of V.S.O.P, a band made up of Miles Davis’ 1960s quintet, but with Freddie Hubbard playing in Davis’ stead. Hancock continued recording pop-jazz projects, but also returned to more traditional ones, such as a quintet with Wynton and Branford Marsalis.

Hancock’s later career has been marked by an openness to various styles, and collaborations with artists ranging from Chick Corea to Stevie Wonder. He continues to record and tour, and his 2008 album River: The Joni Letters, a tribute to Joni Mitchell, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Hancock’s contemporary projects continue to reach for new musical ground, and his work from past decades lives on through its influence.