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Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock is an NEA Jazz Master

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all about today.

Herbie Hancock's creative path has moved fluidly between almost every development in acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B since 1960. He has attained an enviable balance of commercial and artistic success, arriving at a point in his career where he ventures into every new project motivated purely by the desire to expand the boundaries of his creativity.

There are few artists in the music industry who have gained more respect and cast more influence than Herbie Hancock. As the immortal Miles Davis said in his autobiography, "Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and I haven't heard anybody yet who has come after him."

Born in Chicago in 1940, Herbie was a child piano prodigy who performed a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the tender age of 11. He began playing jazz in high school, initially influenced by Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. Also at this time, an additional passion for electronic science began to develop. As a result, he took a double major in music and electrical engineering at Grinnell College.

In 1960, at age 20, Herbie was discovered by trumpeter Donald Byrd, who asked him to join his group. Byrd also introduced Herbie to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records, and after two years of session work with the likes of Phil Woods and Oliver Nelson, he signed to the legendary label as a solo artist. His 1963 debut album, Takin’ Off, was an immediate success, producing “Watermelon Man,” a big hit on jazz and R&B radio. Also in 1963, Herbie received the call that was to change his life and secure his place in jazz history. Miles Davis invited Herbie to join the Miles Davis Quintet. During his five years with Davis, Herbie and his colleagues thrilled audiences and recorded classic after classic, including the albums ESP, Nefertiti, and Sorcerer. Most jazz critics and fans regard this group, which also included Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Williams (drums), as the greatest small jazz group of the 1960s. Even after he left Davis' group, Herbie still made appearances on Davis' groundbreaking recordings In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, which heralded the birth of jazz-fusion.

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Extended Analysis

Miles In France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8

Read "Miles In France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8" reviewed by Doug Collette


At the very same time Beatlemania was slowly but surely beginning to engulf the globe, Miles Davis was inexorably proceeding toward what was the most adventurous music of his career. Miles In France -The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 captures a group of musicians led by “The Man with the Horn" on the threshold of forming what is referred to as his second great quintet, then actually coalescing into that stellar outfit. And the drama within that designation rapidly ...

4
Play This!

Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea: Maiden Voyage

Read "Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea: Maiden Voyage" reviewed by Scott Lichtman


Few have played “Maiden Voyage" as beautifully as its composer Herbie Hancock and compatriot Chick Corea live on two pianos for their album An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea (1978, Sine Qua Non). In fact, few improvisational piano duets have ever been performed this engagingly on any jazz material. Their minds are so harmonically fertile and their instrumental dexterity so fluid that the two greats engage and astound the audience for a continuous 13 minutes. The music ebbs ...

23
Live Review

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024

Read "San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024" reviewed by Walter Atkins


San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024 San Jose, CAAugust 9 through August 11, 2024 San Jose Jazz's Summer Fest 2024 was a high-octane weekend of top-flight musicians and artists covering the full spectrum of melodic sounds, in a friendly and accessible location in downtown San Jose. SJJSF 2024 featured multiple outdoor and indoor venues within steps of each other. Compared to previous years, even the relatively cool weather contributed to the overall relaxed and engaging ambience ...

22
Album Review

Joe Henderson: Power to the People

Read "Power to the People" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Beginning with 1963's Page One, Joe Henderson led a series of five albums for the Blue Note label that firmly established his reputation as a unique and budding artist with something vital to say. He was one of many artists at that time who utilized his Blue Note contract to document his every move while establishing his creative muse during this process. Trumpeter Kenny Dorham would be a major factor in the success of his first few sessions, with drummer ...

13
Album Review

Alan Shorter: Mephistopholes To Orgasm Revisited

Read "Mephistopholes To Orgasm Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


It is often said of a musician, be they alive or no longer with us, that they deserve to be better known. This is emphatically true of the wayward trumpeter and composer Alan Shorter, who was overshadowed during his lifetime by his brother, Wayne Shorter, and who continues to be passed over today in 2024. Some responsibility for his obscurity lies with Alan Shorter himself. Known as Doc Strange to his teenage schoolmates in Newark, New Jersey, ...

25
Reassessing

The Electric Years Box Set

Read "The Electric Years Box Set" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


In a year that has brought us a true bounty of previously unheard majesty including Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!), and Bill Evans; Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), (Elemental Music) it is only fitting that Miles Davis get his due. And in a very, very big way. Seared into modern memory, modern art, the music presented on the gloriously massive, eleven LP set Miles Davis: The Electric Years ...

6
Live Review

Herbie Hancock At Chautauqua Auditorium

Read "Herbie Hancock At Chautauqua Auditorium" reviewed by Steven Roby


Herbie Hancock Chautauqua Auditorium Boulder, CO September 12, 2023 After Herbie Hancock and his quartet settled on the stage, a woman in the crowd yelled, “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo." It's a chant used in the practice of Nichiren Buddhism, which Hancock has said enhances his ability to improvise in his music. “That's the secret to a happy and fulfilling life," he responded. The sold-out show in the historic Chautauqua Auditorium was filled with ...

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2

Performance / Tour

Jazz Icon Herbie Hancock Returns To The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on September 29, 2024

Jazz Icon Herbie Hancock Returns To The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on September 29, 2024

Source: AMT Public Relations

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 5, 2024 NJPAC Prudential Hall Betty Wold Johnson Stage One Center Street Newark, New Jersey 07102 14x GRAMMY winner Herbie Hancock returns to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.,in a highly anticipated one-night only concert. The last time he graced the NJPAC stage was in 2017 as a special guest with the Wayne Shorter Quartet. Herbie Hancock is a true icon ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Herbie Hancock's birthday today!

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all ...

3

Festival

June 29-July 8: The 43rd Festival International De Jazz De Montréal!

June 29-July 8: The 43rd Festival International De Jazz De Montréal!

Source: Ann Braithwaite

The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto, continues to evolve to the beat of the music it showcases. Today, its programming team is very proud to reveal the artists who will be performing at this 43rd edition, which takes place this coming June 29 to July 8. Paid concert tickets will go on sale Thursday, April 6 at 10 a.m. Newsletter subscribers will enjoy an exclusive access to a presale ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Herbie Hancock's birthday today!

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all ...

Video / DVD

Video: Herbie Hancock in 1972

Video: Herbie Hancock in 1972

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

A year and a half before keyboardist Herbie Hancock recorded his seminal Headhunters album in the fall of 1973, he was in Paris performing with his Mwandishi Sextet. Mwandishi is Swahili for composer and it's a name Hancock called himself in the late 1960s and early '70s. Members of his group followed suit: Mchezaji ("player," someone who plays a game) was for Buster Williams, Jabali ("strong as a rock") was for Billy Hart, Mganga ("doctor," whose traditional functions include exorcism, ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Herbie Hancock's birthday today!

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all ...

3

For Sale

Herbie Hancock Celebrates 80th Birthday By Announcing Career-Spanning Vinyl Box Set

Herbie Hancock Celebrates 80th Birthday  By Announcing Career-Spanning Vinyl Box Set

Source: All About Jazz

Vinyl Me, Please and legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock today announce VMP Anthology: The Story of Herbie Hancock—an exclusive vinyl box set celebrating the illustrious career of Herbie Hancock. The Story of Herbie Hancock reinvents the box set experience to take listeners on a sequential journey told across eight albums chosen by Herbie and paired with an exclusive podcast interview series in celebration of Herbie’s 80th birthday, on April 12, 2020. “It brings back fond memories, looking at my discography,” ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Herbie Hancock's birthday today!

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all ...

Recording

10 Little-Known Maiden Voyages

10 Little-Known Maiden Voyages

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In January 1965, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock received a call from a Hollywood jingle agency. Its client, Yardley, needed background music for a TV commercial and wanted a trio playing something jazzy, since the men’s fragrance ad took place in a sophisticated club. But instead of writing straight-ahead jazz, Mr. Hancock arranged a catchy rhythmic line that was closer to rock. In the weeks ahead, Mr. Hancock completed the assignment and then used the rhythmic chords as the bones for ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Jazz Musician of the Day: Herbie Hancock

Source: Michael Ricci


Alan Blake
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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Miles In France 1963...

Legacy Recordings
2024

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Harvest Time...

CID/Fama
2023

buy

Electric Chick...

Verve Records
2023

buy

The Electric Years...

Columbia Records / VMP Anthology
2023

buy

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