Herbie Hancock

Jazz legend
Homepage: herbiehancock.com

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/10/23/book-review-possibilities-herbie-hancock-with-lisa-dickey/XGKcWMHSshjnSx0p4L0DhO/story.html

 BOOK REVIEW

‘Possibilities’ by Herbie Hancock with Lisa Dickey.  Simon and Schuster 2014

Herbie Hancock (above) credits many for his success, especially Miles Davis.

By Siddhartha Mitter
BOSTON GLOBE CORRESPONDENT  
OCTOBER 23, 2014

Herbie Hancock was on honeymoon in Rio when he lost his job with Miles Davis. It was 1968, and Hancock, then 28, had logged five years on piano in Davis’s quintet, one of the great units in jazz history. But a stomach bug and rigid doctor who forbade travel meant Hancock missed some gigs. When he reached Davis, the trumpeter directed him to his manager, who delivered the news. Davis had hired Chick Corea and moved on.

Miles knew, of course. It was time for Hancock to spread his wings. Hancock’s memoir, “Possibilities,’’ spans the jazz legend’s life from his birth in 1940 to the present. Throughout he credits many people for his charmed journey, starting with his striver parents on Chicago’s South Side, who supported his high-end music education, and trumpeter Donald Byrd, who plucked a 20-year-old Hancock from Chicago, took him to New York, and steeped him in advice about the business.

But Davis gets extra praise. Jazz, he showed Hancock, is “about trusting yourself to respond on the fly. If you can allow yourself to do that, you never stop exploring, you never stop learning, in music or in life.” The only higher credit goes to Nichiren Buddhism, which Hancock adopted in 1972 and continues to practice, chanting daily.

Most jazz cats of Hancock’s vintage led interesting, if at times self-destructive, lives. But Hancock has had a long, mostly healthy run — although he partied, he avoided the bad stuff, until a scary entanglement with crack in the late 1990s that he reveals for the first time here.

He also shed creative skin more than most, going from jazz to “far-out space music” with his early-1970s band Mwandishi, to funk, to projects like his 2008 Grammy-winning compilation of Joni Mitchell covers. He guested most recently on beat experimentalist Flying Lotus’s new record.
Possibilities
Author:  Herbie Hancock with Lisa Dickey
Publisher:  Viking
Number of pages: 344, illustrated
Book price: $29.95

Indeed, many people under, say, 50 probably discovered Hancock via “Rockit,” his highly hummable hip-hop foray of 1983, with the quirky robotic video that became a staple of early MTV. By then Hancock’s status in the jazz pantheon was cemented; he could shrug off purist complaints.

“Rockit” is one of a few famous cuts that get back-story treatment in the memoir, along with the early “Watermelon Man,” which brought Hancock his first royalties stream; “Maiden Voyage,” a gracious, indelible statement of mid-’60s jazz; and the funked-out “Chameleon,” a 1970s standard with his Headhunters band.

Hancock mostly goes light on compositional technicalities in favor of studio tales and emotional highlights. It’s moving to learn, at several points, the influence of his sister Jean, a frustrated singer held back in several professions by race and gender barriers, and whose early death left Hancock with regrets about his own fraternal conduct.

The jazz world was (and still is) very male, of course, and Hancock ran with guys who, like Davis, fancied “beautiful cars, clothes, and women.” For his part, Hancock, who’s had a long, mostly happy marriage, says “I wasn’t a skirt-chaser, but I did like skirts.” It’s a stance — in the middle of the scene, but not overly committed — that he shows in other areas too: cerebral, leaving space to make his next move.

Two obsessions, however, form twin sinews of his story. One is with gear — born of a tinkerer’s instinct, honed as an engineering major, and set loose by the explosion, from the 1970s on, of synthesizers and computer tools. The details can get a bit much, but how Hancock went from old-school pianist to one listed on a 1980 album playing 15 gizmos (Clavitar, Minimoog, Vocoder, Apple II. . . ) lends texture to his creative journey.

The other is Buddhism, which makes for wry anecdotes — the attempt to get an ailing Davis to chant is classic — but also passages on Hancock’s religious group that feel extraneous. But Hancock is telling his story his way, assisted by a writing partner, Lisa Dickey, and can’t be faulted for claiming his commitments.

Big jazz and pop names saturate the book. Hancock knows everyone, and close pals include Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones. But there’s little gossip, nor much critical reflection on artistic life and milieu. “Possibilities’’ is a conventional as-told-to memoir in efficient prose devoid of adventure. It is, however, very effective at its paramount task: getting the reader to dig into the catalog of this restless jazz genius with newly edified ears.

Siddhartha Mitter can be reached at siddharthamitter@gmail.com.











Herbie Hancock is an iconic jazz musician, known as much for his mastery of the traditional as he is for entirely changing the game. 

Why you should listen

Pianist and composer Herbie Hancock has been a part of every permutation and development of both acoustic and electronic jazz since his career began. He truly stepped into the spotlight in 1963, releasing his first hit “Watermelon Man” and then joining the Miles Davis Quintet. From these promising beginnings, Hancock went on to outdo all expectations, earning critical acclaim, the respect of his peers and commercial success. He has generated more than 50 albums, won 12 Grammys, received an Academy Award and even scored five MTV Awards in the 1980s.

Hancock is known for his extraordinary career as well as for his penchant for experimentation. A double major in music and electrical engineering at college, his fascination with musical gadgets led him to become one of the first jazz pianists to work with electronic keyboards. As well as using unexpected instruments, Hancock’s landmark albums blurred the boundaries of music, effortlessly mixing jazz with the once unlikely partners of funk, soul, rhythm and blues, and more. Hancock’s experimentation has changed the face of jazz forever, and even as he approaches his 70th year he continues to perform, create, push the envelope and amaze.

What others say

“Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and I haven't heard anybody yet who has come after him.” — Miles Davis

Herbie Hancock’s TED talk

Herbie Hancock on the TED Blog













Music

An all-star set: Herbie Hancock on TED.com


January 8, 2010
 
Legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock delivers a stunning performance alongside two old friends — past drummer for The Headhunters, Harvey Mason and bassist, Marcus Miller. Listen to the end to hear them sweeten the classic “Watermelon Man.” (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, Long Beach, California. Duration: 25:05) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/546Z Watch Herbie Hancock’s talk on
[…]

Continue reading









Posted by: Shanna Carpenter 
 
Legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock delivers a stunning performance alongside two old friends — past drummer for The Headhunters, Harvey Mason and bassist, Marcus Miller. Listen to the end to hear them sweeten the classic “Watermelon Man.” (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, Long Beach, California. Duration: 25:05):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8sv3pbCJTs


Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/546Z
http://www.npr.org/artists/15294441/herbie-hancock 

Herbie Hancock

Tribute To Miles: A Conversation With Herbie Hancock

by 

Posted:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/tribute-to-miles-a-conver_b_883658.html



2011-06-24-Olympia_Tribute_to_Milesvf.jpg

A Conversation with Herbie Hancock

Mike Ragogna: Herbie, you're doing the European jazz festival circuit this year paying tribute to Miles Davis, right?
Herbie Hancock: Yes, we're playing the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and several others.
MR: And you're mainly going to be doing this with your pals, Wayne Shorter and Marcus Miller?

HH: Right, exactly. Actually, it's Marcus' project--it was his idea to do this--and he got Wayne and myself to agree to doing this. When we all worked with Miles Davis, we were young people that he nurtured, and that he sought out to be in his band. We thought we'd do the same thing because we're not the youngest guys in the band anymore. (laughs) So, we decided that we would get a young trumpet player and a young drummer. It turns out both of them are named Sean. There's Sean Jones, the trumpeter, and Sean Rickman is the drummer.

MR: That's great that you're carrying on that tradition, just as Miles brought you guys on as young musicians. This is an interesting project that you're doing because you're going to be covering each of his significant phases. How are you guys going to approach that?

HH: Well, I can tell you sort of philosophically what we're doing in order to attempt to live up to what Miles stood for. We decided to not just have this be a typical tribute tour, where you play the old songs in the old way, and just play songs that Miles was known for. If we did that, we really wouldn't be living up to Miles' expectations because he was never about trying to do anything other than be in the moment, and this moment is '11. This is the 21st century, and Miles passed away at the end of the 20th century in '91. So, for certain parts, we'll play some songs that Miles was known for, but without trying to recreate Miles' sound because he would roll over in his grave if we did that, you know? We're going to attempt to create our own fresh approach to those songs.

MR: In the same improvisational spirit as you guys had at the time, right?

HH: Exactly. That way, we can really pay tribute to Miles.

MR: Do you have any idea which songs you'll be doing at this point?

HH: No, not at all. I would think one of the songs might be "Tutu," which Marcus actually wrote for Miles.

MR: Herbie, you debuted with Donald Byrd, another trumpeter, and then you moved on to join Miles' quartet in '63 with Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Wayne. Can you tell me the story of how you progressed from one group to the other?

HH: What happened was, it was Donald Byrd that really discovered me in Chicago. He hired me to play for a weekend in Milwaukee. There was a big storm that particular night, and Donald Byrd came through Chicago and was going to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin--it's really not that far, like a two-hour drive or something like that. Anyway, Donald's, pianist had gotten stranded somewhere, and so he needed somebody for the weekend--it was a ten day engagement. Well, Donald went to a club and asked the owner who he could get for just one weekend. I winded up getting the gig for that weekend, and Donald and the band really responded to my playing so much that they decided to fire the other piano player and hire me. So, that's how I got with Donald Byrd. I was twenty years old at the time, and Donald kind of took me under his wing. He and I shared an apartment, and I was kind of like his younger brother. He really watched out for me, nurtured me, and helped me develop. I worked on and off with him for a couple of years, and in the meantime, I got my own record contract, which Donald was responsible for me getting, and I did a lot of side dates with a lot of people. I got known in New York, where I had moved to when I joined Donald and his band. In the meantime, I wrote "Watermelon Man" for my first record.

MR: What a classic.

HH: It did pretty well. It still kind of hangs on. (laughs) I kept hearing these rumors that Miles was looking for me, and I knew that Miles was in a transition--he had moved from the band he had Wynton Kelly, and John Coltrane was already on his own. So, I heard this rumor that Miles was looking for me, and I didn't believe a word of it, right? One day, Donald said to me, "Look, when Miles calls, tell him you're not working with anybody." I said, "Donald, first of all, Miles isn't going to call. Secondly, I wouldn't do that to you. All the stuff that you've done for me, I wouldn't disrespect you in that way." Then, Donald said, "Listen, if I stood in the way of your having the great opportunity to work with Miles Davis, I couldn't look myself in the mirror. You take that opportunity."

Within a matter of days, that phone rang--it might have been the next day--and it was Miles. The first thing that Miles said was, "You working with anybody?" I said, "No." He told me he wanted me to come to his house tomorrow at 1:30, "click." I didn't know where he lived--I sort of knew, but I didn't really know. A half hour later, Tony Williams called me and said, "Did Miles call you?" I said, "Yeah," and he said, "He called me too!" He had Miles' address, so we showed up the next day at his house and we went to his recreation room where Ron Carter was, and at the time, Ron Coleman was playing sax with Miles. So, we were there for three days playing in Miles' basement without Miles. He played a few notes that first day, and then we didn't see him the rest of the day, but he kept telling us to come over then next day.

MR: Didn't the topic of "Where's Miles" come up?

HH: Well, yeah. Ron Carter kind of took over and played some songs.

MR: I imagine that you guys were having such a good time that it was like, "Okay, when Miles gets here, he gets here."
HH: Yeah, that's right. We weren't going to question Miles--we were just happy to be there. Finally, on the third day, he came downstairs and played a couple more notes. He said, "Okay, tomorrow, we're going to meet over at Columbia Recording Studios on 7th Avenue." I was dumbfounded, so I said, "Miles, does that mean I'm in the band?" Miles looked at me with a little bit of a smirk and said, "You're making the record." And there was another expletive that he used. (laughs) We went to the studio the next day and began recording the album Seven Steps To Heaven.

MR: Since you've been with Miles during different periods, what is your favorite period of Miles' music?

HH: Uh, each moment?

MR: (laughs)

HH: You can't separate them that way. We were always in the moment, and Miles always challenged us to be in the moment. We never knew what we were going to record. Miles would ask us to bring songs, but we would create the arrangements right there in the studio, and little by little, from making the records and touring, we kind of developed our own direction. It was a much more open direction than when we first joined Miles' band.

MR: When you were looking at your musical growth, I imagine you were making huge leaps and bounds of progress. Were you noticing that as it was happening?

HH: No, you can't be aware of it anymore than you can be aware that your hair is growing.

MR: How about that moment when you're on stage or in the studio, and all of a sudden, you're playing this stuff and it's like, "Oh wow, where did that come from?"

HH: Well, of course, those were the best moments, when something really special would emerge. But jazz is like that anyway. You go on a tour, and there would be certain days when you really somehow connect with yourself and with the audience. There is a magic that happens in those moments, and that's the great joy of playing jazz--it's the great joy of playing music when that happens. I think it happens in jazz even more so because it's so improvisatory, and you are creating something different moment to moment.

MR: Does it also have to do with your connection to the people you're playing with?

HH: Absolutely. That band was a really high level band--cream of the crop. So, we couldn't help but grow and evolve, and we were constantly evolving. We were aware that we were going to these different levels, and it seemed to happen every few months--we'd be onto another level. We were aware of that, but as far as comparing it to anybody but ourselves, we didn't do that. We only compared it to ourselves in the sense of what we were doing with that band.

MR: Yeah, that's what I was imagining. At some point, the evolution has to be too intense to ignore.

HH: Well, because it was a team effort, I felt it more as part of the team, rather than as an individual. What I got from the rest of the band was the challenge to find the courage to reach further into the unknown.
MR: Nice.

HH: That's what I got. The unknown territory is vast and immeasurable. So, it was the influence, support, and encouragement of the other members of the band that challenged me to find new solutions to these songs, even though we were playing many of the same songs every night. Each time, we were trying to find a new solution, and that process always was the source of growth.

MR: Did you find yourself identifying more with any particular member? Were there any members that you felt like you understood what they were doing so well that it made your choices for you?

HH: Actually, Tony Williams was 17 when he joined Miles--I was 23--so, he was really a kid--but the way he played was unlike any other drummer I had ever heard. Yes, he had been influenced by other drummers as part of his development, but by the time he was 17, he was really his own man, and it was the beginning of him being his own man. That became a seed for further development, but he was already playing a totally unique style. One of the things that distinguished him from other drummers was his use of a variety of different kinds of phrases that were in different time signatures. Rhythmically, what he played was so different from other drummers, and the devices he used were so different.

I was totally intrigued by that, and what I wanted to do was find a way to do that on the piano. So, Tony and I really became partners in crime, in a way, and he was a big influence on me, primarily rhythmically. Miles influenced me kind of overall, but because of Miles' vision, there were key components of my own development that Miles played a part in nurturing. Tony was my buddy, and he and I used to hang out a lot, and I would ask him a lot of questions about what he was doing. What I would get from Miles wasn't so much through asking Miles questions, but was through Miles' behavior as a musician--not necessarily his behavior outside of the music, but even some of that. He showed a lot of courage when courage was needed. When other people would cower, Miles would stand up.

MR: When you were playing with Tony, it seems you took what you developed with Tony musically to your solo albums.

HH: What I focused on with Tony was the colors that he made with the drums. He had his own way of playing, but it just expanded the pallet of colors that I had been hearing from other drummers, and Tony went way beyond that.

MR: Which are your favorite Miles albums with or without you participating?

HH: Well, one of my favorite albums of all time is Miles' Miles Ahead. It was Miles + 19, which was with Gil Evans and a band of 19 musicians--brass and woodwind instruments--backing up Miles. When that record came out, I had never heard anything even close to that in my entire life. It was like something that I had in my heart, but I never knew it until I heard that record.

MR: Some people have that experience with Sketches Of Spain. That Gil Evans stuff is just phenomenal, huh.

HH: It's phenomenal. I heard elements of classical music and I started off as a classical pianist. So, I heard elements of that in the orchestral writing, and in modern jazz, mixed together in a seamless way. It was just an expansion of where jazz was at that moment, and that record was done in '59. I remember that the first time I heard that record, I cried all the way through it. (laughs) It was so beautiful. I kept playing it. I'd play the first side, then flip it over to play the second side. When it would finish, I'd flip it over and play the first side again, and then I'd play the second side--I must have played it five times--and I was drenched in tears because it was so beautiful.

MR: When I interviewed you last time, I asked if you missed Miles. This time out, let me ask you what you think Miles' main legacy is. What do you think is the main thing that he left behind?

HH: The people--the people that worked with him. His influence on those people is his legacy, and I'm one of those people.

MR: Beautiful answer.

HH: He was the best teacher in the world because he encouraged us to find the answers by ourselves. That's why he never told us, specifically, what to play. It would always be some type of suggestion that would leave you hunting for what he meant. So, you'd wind up finding a solution that was your response to that. So, each time, it was a quest.

MR: Is it possible you guys are going to record a little bit of what you're doing on the road, so maybe there's a project in the future?

HH: We didn't get that far but that very well could be.

MR: It's just that it's so tempting to want to hear what you're doing for those who aren't going to be able to make the European tour. Are you going to take it to the States too?

HH: Right now, all the dates are in Europe. I haven't heard anything further.

MR: Okay, well I'm planting a bug. That's all.

HH: (laughs)

MR: It would be great to hear what you guys did.

HH: When I first joined Miles, George Coleman was playing sax and then Wayne came in. Wayne added a quality of creativity, mystery and questions that were so compatible with Miles and what he was doing. A lot of what we did was provocative--it would leave questions in the air. So, Wayne developed into, for me, the person that I look up to the most in music today. I mean, he is brilliant. He's a master genius composer and saxophonist--there is nobody like Wayne Shorter. He's my Miles Davis right now, in a way, even though we're contemporaries. Wayne is older than I am, but we're both in our '70s. I hang on Wayne's words, thoughts, and music the way jazz musicians did when Thelonious Monk was around.

MR: Interesting. I remember when I was working with Joni Mitchell, she would talk about Wayne, and her eyes would light up like she was talking about Jesus or something. She's another huge fan of Wayne. There is something about him--there's a real magic.

HH: Let me tell you something. One of the greatest experiences I ever had was listening to a conversation with Joni Mitchell and Wayne Shorter. Just to hear them talking, my mouth was open. They understand each other perfectly, and they make these leaps and jumps because they don't have to explain anything. (laughs)

MR: Yeah, like an unspoken thing, pure feeling.

HH: Unbelievable. They both speak in these metaphors that are just incredible.

MR: Joni told me she would say something like, "Wayne, can you play something a little more yellow?" or whatever, and then he would just go, "Okay," and he would play exactly what she wanted.

HH: Exactly. They are definitely on the same wavelength.

MR: When we spoke last, we were talking about The Imagine Project. When it comes to albums, you don't do the same thing twice, that's highly admirable.

HH: I made that vow, to always try to find a new vantage point when I make a record--one that I haven't explored before, and one that I haven't heard anybody else explore before. I believe that not only am I capable of that, I believe that everybody is capable of that. So, it's a standard that I make for myself, to encourage other people to do that.

MR: Do you think other people give up on that a little too soon?

HH: Many times they don't even think that way. They actually shortchange themselves, and they don't' realize that they are capable of doing that. I get tremendous encouragement for that, and incredible inspiration from practicing Buddhism too, which I've been doing for almost forty years now. That's one of the things we talk about in Buddhism--the ability for the human being to express himself in an infinite number of ways.

MR: It seems like that's where growth comes from. If you get out of your habits, it seems like that's the only potential for growth.

HH: Right, absolutely, and Miles encouraged that. He would always say things like, "I pay you to practice on the bandstand," and he would say things about getting out of the comfort zone. That's what we talked about back in the day, and that's one of the reasons that I first started practicing Buddhism, the musical reason--it was very much compatible with my training with Miles and others. Of course, that was the tip of the iceberg. Music is not the only reason that I practice Buddhism anymore because it has affected my whole life. As a matter of fact, the way I view myself is different now than it was for the vast majority of my life. I don't view myself as a musician anymore--I view myself as a human being that functions as a musician when I'm functioning as a musician, but that's not 24 hours a day. That's really opened me up to even more perspectives because now I look at music, not from the standpoint of being a musician, but from the standpoint of being a human being.

MR: I get that, totally. When you think of it as a form of communication, what you've done is evolved your particular form because it's growing at the same level as your spirituality and being a human.

HH: Exactly. Buddhism has turned me on to my humanness, and is challenging my humanness so that I can become more human. What I'm talking about is the best of what the human spirit has to offer. So, we're talking about things like courage, wisdom, compassion, and those kinds of things.
MR: Higher purpose and higher senses.

HH: Exactly.

MR: I know I've asked you this question before, but I'm going to ask it again because it's always a lovely answer. My question to you is, what advice do you have for new artists, right now?

HH: This is a transitional stage in the music business--the whole business of music, with record labels, intellectual properties and so forth. So, what I might have told musicians 15 years ago is different from what I tell them now. Now, we have the great opportunity to continue to own our intellectual property. Fifteen years ago, I might have said, "Try to get on a major record label," but I don't easily give out that advice anymore--sometimes, that's not the best solution. I encourage young musicians to also study business and get some sense of what business is about because the musicians of today and the near future will be businessmen themselves and are being businessmen themselves. Prince is a perfect example. He's come up with amazing solutions for his own career that the labels, in some cases, are trying to catch up to--what Radiohead is doing, and many others. So, it's a brand new day, as far as the music business is concerned, and there are ways to put out your records yourself, cheaply.

I can freely give the advice play the music that's in your heart. You don't have to sell out to anybody because you can own that. Play what you believe in and develop that, and if a major label doesn't pick up on it, that's not going to be your problem. You go on the internet and you can find companies that work only with independent artists or primarily with independent artists. The best advice I can give to a musician is to continue to follow your heart, to be open, be not just a musician, but a human being, and develop your character, so that that emerges as part of the story you're trying to tell with your music.

MR: And that's what you do to this day?

HH: That's my goal. That, and to continually be a student of music, and a student of life until the day I die--and beyond. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) And beyond. Herbie, do you have one last thing you'd like to say about Miles?

HH: I remember--you kind of eluded to it during this conversation--you've asked me if I miss Miles. I said that I don't because there is a lot of Miles that is in me--his influence is in me and in many of the musicians that have worked with him, who I really connect and respond to, like Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Dave Holland, for example. Pat Metheny may not have worked with Miles, but he was influenced by Miles. John McLaughlin was influenced by Miles. There are so many people that I've had a great opportunity to work with and observe, many of whom are my peers, that I really respond to their music. There are also a lot of young musicians who have worked with some of those people, who are now creating their own directions in music--Danilo Perez, for one, who works with Wayne Shorter's band--but also has his own records, and they're really gorgeous records. Aaron Parks, who worked with Terence Blanchard--Terence was influenced by Miles--is an example of an amazingly creative pianist, and I admire what he's doing and respond to that.

MR: In a sense, yeah, I guess it's pretty hard to miss Miles with this kind of legacy. Herbie, you're in an incredible graduation class, I have to say.

HH: (laughs) Miles covered a lot of territory, so I feel his presence--a living presence--in the music of the people he has influenced.

MR: That's a beautiful legacy he's left. He changed jazz, as you all did as his--if you care to say it--disciples. Miles may be the godfather of all of this, but I think everyone has been influenced by not only Miles, but also by what all of you have created as well.

HH: I try to do my best, and I try to live up to, again, what a human being is capable of--that's my goal.

MR: Beautiful. Herbie, I really appreciate your time so much, your interviews are always heartfelt and enlightening. Thanks again.

HH: Thank you very much.
Transcribed by Ryan Gaffney











Herbie Hancock's new memoir is titled Possibilities.

Jazz

Herbie Hancock: 'On A Path To Find My Own Answer'

In a candid interview, the ever-innovative pianist traces the lines between Buddhist chants, Sly Stone and Miles Davis, while shedding new light on some hard facts about his past.

Listen 9:46
    Herbie Hancock
Hancock in concert at the Nice Jazz Festival 2010

    Background information
    Birth name    Herbert Jeffrey Hancock
    Born    April 12, 1940 (age 74)
    Chicago, Illinois, United States
    Genres    Jazz, bebop, post bop, hard bop, modal jazz, jazz fusion, jazz-funk, funk, R&B, electro, classical
    Occupation(s)    Musician, composer, bandleader
    Instruments    Piano, electric piano, synthesizers, organ, clavinet, keytar, vocoder, Fairlight CMI
    Years active    1961–present
    Labels    Columbia, Blue Note, Warner Bros., Verve
    Associated acts    Miles Davis Quintet, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, The Headhunters, V.S.O.P., Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell
    Website    www.herbiehancock.com

    Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer.[1] As part of Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, Hancock helped to 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 music (characterized by syncopated drum beats). 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.

    Hancock practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the Buddhist association Sōka Gakkai International.[2][3][4] As part of Hancock's spiritual practice, he recites the Buddhist chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo each day.[5] In 2013, Hancock's dialogue with Wayne Shorter and Daisaku Ikeda on jazz, Buddhism and life was published in Japanese.

    On July 22, 2011, at a ceremony in Paris, Hancock was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Intercultural Dialogue. In 2013 Hancock joined the University of California, Los Angeles faculty as a professor in the UCLA music department where he will teach jazz music.[6]

    Hancock is the 2014 Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University. Holders of the chair deliver a series of six lectures on poetry, "The Norton Lectures", poetry being "interpreted in the broadest sense, including all poetic expression in language, music, or fine arts." Previous Norton lecturers include musicians Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky and John Cage. Hancock's theme is "The Ethics of Jazz."[7]

    Early life and career

    Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winnie Belle (Griffin), a secretary, and Wayman Edward Hancock, a government meat inspector.[8] He attended the Wendell Phillips High School. Like many jazz pianists, Hancock started with a classical music education. He studied from age seven, and his talent was recognized early. Considered a child prodigy,[9] he played the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major, K. 537 (Coronation) at a young people's concert on February 5, 1952, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (led by CSO assistant conductor George Schick) at age 11.[10]

    Through his teens, Hancock never had a jazz teacher, but developed his ear and sense of harmony. He was also influenced by records of the vocal group the Hi-Lo's. He reported that:

    the time I actually heard the Hi-Lo's, I started picking that stuff out; my ear was happening. I could hear stuff and that's when I really learned some much farther-out voicings – like the harmonies I used on Speak Like a Child – just being able to do that. I really got that from Clare Fischer's arrangements for the Hi-Lo's. Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept... He and Bill Evans, and Ravel and Gil Evans, finally. You know, that's where it came from.[11]

    In 1960, he heard Chris Anderson play just once, and begged him to accept him as a student.[12] Hancock often mentions Anderson as his harmonic guru. Hancock left Grinnell College, moved to Chicago and began working with Donald Byrd and Coleman Hawkins, during which period he also took courses at Roosevelt University. (He later graduated from Grinnell with degrees in electrical engineering and music. Grinnell also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1972.[10][13]) Donald Byrd was attending the Manhattan School of Music in New York at the time and suggested that Hancock study composition with Vittorio Giannini, which he did for a short time in 1960. The pianist quickly earned a reputation, and played subsequent sessions with Oliver Nelson and Phil Woods. He recorded his first solo album Takin' Off for Blue Note Records in 1962. "Watermelon Man" (from Takin' Off) was to provide Mongo Santamaría with a hit single, but more importantly for Hancock, Takin' Off caught the attention of Miles Davis, who was at that time assembling a new band. Hancock was introduced to Davis by the young drummer Tony Williams, a member of the new band.

    Miles Davis Quintet (1963–1968) and Blue Note Records (1962–1969)
     
    Hancock received considerable attention when, in May 1963,[10] he joined Davis's Second Great Quintet. Davis personally sought out Hancock, whom he saw as one of the most promising talents in jazz. The rhythm section Davis organized was young but effective, comprising bassist Ron Carter, 17-year-old drummer Williams, and Hancock on piano. After George Coleman and Sam Rivers each took a turn at the saxophone spot, the quintet would gel with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone. This quintet is often regarded as one of the finest jazz ensembles[by whom?], and the rhythm section has been especially praised for its innovation and flexibility[by whom?].

    The second great quintet was where Hancock found his own voice as a pianist. Not only did he find new ways to use common chords, but he also popularized chords that had not previously been used in jazz. Hancock also developed a unique taste for "orchestral" accompaniment – using quartal harmony and Debussy-like harmonies, with stark contrasts then unheard of in jazz. With Williams and Carter he wove a labyrinth of rhythmic intricacy on, around and over existing melodic and chordal schemes. In the latter half of the 1960s their approach became so sophisticated and unorthodox that conventional chord changes would hardly be discernible; hence their improvisational concept would become known as "Time, No Changes".[citation needed]

    While in Davis's band, Hancock also found time to record dozens of sessions for the Blue Note label, both under his own name and as a sideman with other musicians such as Shorter, Williams, Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson, Rivers, Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard.

    His albums Empyrean Isles (1964) and Maiden Voyage (1965) were to be two of the most famous and influential jazz LPs of the 1960s, winning praise for both their innovation and accessibility (the latter demonstrated by the subsequent enormous popularity of the Maiden Voyage title track as a jazz standard, and by the jazz rap group US3 having a hit single with "Cantaloop" (derived from "Cantaloupe Island" on Empyrean Isles) some twenty five years later). Empyrean Isles featured the Davis rhythm section of Hancock, Carter and Williams with the addition of Hubbard on cornet, while Maiden Voyage also added former Davis saxophonist Coleman (with Hubbard remaining on trumpet). Both albums are regarded as among the principal foundations of the post-bop style.[citation needed] Hancock also recorded several less-well-known but still critically acclaimed albums with larger ensembles – My Point of View (1963), Speak Like a Child (1968) and The Prisoner (1969) featured flugelhorn, alto flute and bass trombone. 1963's Inventions and Dimensions was an album of almost entirely improvised music, teaming Hancock with bassist Paul Chambers and two Latin percussionists, Willie Bobo and Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez.

    During this period, Hancock also composed the score to Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blowup (1966), the first of many soundtracks he recorded in his career.

    Davis had begun incorporating elements of rock and popular music into his recordings by the end of Hancock's tenure with the band. Despite some initial reluctance, Hancock began doubling on electric keyboards including the Fender Rhodes electric piano at Davis's insistence. Hancock adapted quickly to the new instruments, which proved to be instrumental in his future artistic endeavors.

    Under the pretext that he had returned late from a honeymoon in Brazil, Hancock was dismissed from Davis's band. In the summer of 1968 Hancock formed his own sextet. However, although Davis soon disbanded his quintet to search for a new sound, Hancock, despite his departure from the working band, continued to appear on Davis records for the next few years. Noteworthy appearances include In a Silent Way, A Tribute to Jack Johnson and On the Corner.

    Fat Albert (1969) and Mwandishi (1971)

    Hancock left Blue Note in 1969, signing with Warner Bros. Records. In 1969, Hancock composed the soundtrack for the Bill Cosby animated children's television show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Titled Fat Albert Rotunda (1969), the album was mainly an R&B-influenced album with strong jazz overtones. One of the jazzier songs on the record, "Tell Me a Bedtime Story", was later re-worked as a more electronic sounding song for the Quincy Jones album, Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! (1978).

    Hancock became fascinated with accumulating musical gadgets and toys. Together with the profound influence of Davis's Bitches Brew (1970), this fascination would culminate in a series of albums, in which electronic instruments are coupled with acoustic instruments.

    Hancock's first ventures into electronic music started with a sextet comprising Hancock, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart, and a trio of horn players: Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), and multireedist Bennie Maupin. Dr. Patrick Gleeson was eventually added to the mix to play and program the synthesizers. In fact, Hancock was one of the first jazz pianists to completely embrace electronic keyboards.[citation needed]

    The sextet, later a septet with the addition of Gleeson, made three albums under Hancock's name: Mwandishi (1971), Crossings (1972) (both on Warner Bros. Records), and Sextant (1973) (released on Columbia Records); two more, Realization and Inside Out, were recorded under Henderson's name with essentially the same personnel. The music exhibited strong improvisational aspect beyond the confines of jazz mainstream and showed influence from the electronic music of contemporary classical composers.

    Synthesizer player Gleeson, one of the first musicians to play synthesizer on any jazz recording, introduced the instrument on Crossings, released in 1972, one of a handful of influential electronic jazz/fusion recordings to feature synthesizer that year. On Crossings (as well as on Weather Report's I Sing the Body Electric), the synthesizer is used more as an improvisatory global orchestration device than as a strictly melodic instrument. An early review of Crossings in Downbeat magazine complained about the synthesizer, but a few years later the magazine noted in a cover story on Gleeson that he was "a pioneer" in the field of electronics in jazz. In the albums following The Crossings, Hancock started to play synth himself, with synth taking on a melodic role.

    Hancock's three records released in 1971–1973 later became known as the "Mwandishi" albums, so-called after a Swahili name Hancock sometimes used during this era (Mwandishi is Swahili for writer). The first two, including Fat Albert Rotunda were made available on the 2-CD set Mwandishi: the Complete Warner Bros. Recordings, released in 1994, but are now sold as individual CD editions. Of the three electronic albums, Sextant is probably the most experimental since the ARP synthesizers are used extensively, and some advanced improvisation ("post-modal free impressionism") is found on the tracks "Hornets" and "Hidden Shadows" (which is in the meter 19/4).[citation needed] "Hornets" was later revised on the 2001 album Future2Future as "Virtual Hornets".

    Among the instruments Hancock and Gleeson used were Fender Rhodes piano, ARP Odyssey, ARP 2600, ARP Pro Soloist Synthesizer, a Mellotron and the Moog synthesizer III.

    All three Warner Bros. albums Fat Albert Rotunda (1969), Mwandishi (1971), and Crossings (1972), were remastered in 2001 and released in Europe but were not released in the US as of June 2005. In the winter of 2006–7 a remastered edition of Crossings was announced and scheduled for release in the spring.[needs update]

    From Head Hunters (1973) to Secrets (1976)
    See also: Head Hunters

    Hancock playing in Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands, December, 2006
    After the sometimes "airy" and decidedly experimental "Mwandishi" albums, Hancock was eager to perform more "earthy" and "funky" music. The Mwandishi albums – though later seen as respected early fusion recordings – had seen mixed reviews and poor sales, so it is probable that Hancock was motivated by financial concerns as well as artistic restlessness.[citation needed] Hancock was also bothered by the fact that many people did not understand avant-garde music. He explained that he loved funk music, especially Sly Stone's music, so he wanted to try to make funk himself.

    He gathered a new band, which he called The Headhunters, keeping only Maupin from the sextet and adding bassist Paul Jackson, percussionist Bill Summers, and drummer Harvey Mason. The album Head Hunters, released in 1973, was a major hit and crossed over to pop audiences, though it prompted criticism from some jazz fans.

    Despite charges of "selling out", Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic positively reviewed the album among other friendly critics, saying, "Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital three decades after its initial release, and its genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop."[14]

    Drummer Mason was replaced by Mike Clark, and the band released a second album, Thrust, the following year, 1974. (A live album from a Japan performance, consisting of compositions from those first two Head Hunters releases was released in 1975 as Flood. The record has since been released on CD in Japan.) This was almost as well received as its predecessor, if not attaining the same level of commercial success. The Headhunters made another successful album called Survival of the Fittest in 1975 without Hancock, while Hancock himself started to make even more commercial albums, often featuring members of the band, but no longer billed as The Headhunters. The Headhunters reunited with Hancock in 1998 for Return of the Headhunters, and a version of the band (featuring Jackson and Clark) continues to play live and record.

    In 1973, Hancock composed his second masterful soundtrack to the controversial film The Spook Who Sat by the Door. Then in 1974, he also composed the soundtrack to the first Death Wish film. One of his memorable songs, "Joanna's Theme", would later be re-recorded in 1997 on his duet album with Shorter, 1 + 1.

    Hancock's next jazz-funk albums of the 1970s were Man-Child (1975), and Secrets (1976), which point toward the more commercial direction Hancock would take over the next decade. These albums feature the members of the Headhunters band, but also a variety of other musicians in important roles.

    From V.S.O.P. (1976–) to Future Shock (1983)

    During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hancock toured with his V.S.O.P. quintet, which featured all the members of the 1960s Davis quintet except Davis, who was replaced by trumpeter Hubbard. There was constant speculation that one day Davis would reunite with his classic band, but he never did so. VSOP recorded several live albums in the late 1970s, including The Quintet (1977).

    In 1978, Hancock recorded a duet with Chick Corea, who had replaced him in the Davis band a decade earlier. Hancock also released a solo acoustic piano album titled The Piano (1979), which, like so many Hancock albums at the time, was initially released only in Japan. (It was finally released in the US in 2004.) Several other Japan-only releases have yet[when?] to appear in the US, such as Dedication (1974), V.S.O.P.'s Tempest in the Colosseum (1977), and Direct Step (1978). Live Under the Sky was a VSOP album remastered for the US in 2004, and included an entire second concert from the July 1979 tour.

    From 1978 to 1982, Hancock recorded many albums consisting of jazz-inflected disco and pop music, beginning with Sunlight (featuring guest musicians including Williams and Pastorius on the last track) (1978). Singing through a vocoder, he earned a British hit,[15] "I Thought It Was You", although critics were unimpressed.[16] This led to more vocoder on 1979 follow-up, Feets, Don't Fail Me Now, which gave him another UK hit in "You Bet Your Love".[15]

    Albums such as Monster (1980), Magic Windows (1981), and Lite Me Up (1982) were some of Hancock's most criticized and unwelcomed albums, the market at the time being somewhat saturated with similar pop-jazz hybrids from the likes of former bandmate Hubbard. Hancock himself had quite a limited role in some of those albums, leaving singing, composing and even producing to others. Mr. Hands (1980) is perhaps the one album during this period, that was critically acclaimed. To the delight of many fans, there were no vocals on the album, and one track featured Pastorius on bass. The album contained a wide variety of different styles, including a disco instrumental song, a Latin-jazz number and an electronic piece, in which Hancock plays alone with the help of computers.

    Hancock also found time to record more traditional jazz while creating more commercially oriented music. He toured with Williams and Carter in 1981, recording Herbie Hancock Trio, a five-track live album released only in Japan. A month later, he recorded Quartet with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, released in the US the following year. Hancock, Williams and Carter toured internationally with Wynton and his brother, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, in what was known as "VSOP II". This quintet can be heard on Marsalis's debut album on Columbia (1981). In 1984 VSOP II performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival as a sextet with Hancock, Williams, Carter, the Marsalis Brothers and the addition of a third member into the horn section by way of Bobby McFerrin contributing his unique vocal styling's.

    In 1982 Hancock contributed to the Simple Minds album New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84), playing a synthesizer solo on the track "Hunter and the Hunted".

    In 1983, Hancock had a mainstream hit with the Grammy-award winning instrumental single "Rockit" from the album Future Shock. It was the first jazz hip-hop song[17][18][19] and became a worldwide anthem for the breakdancers and for the hip-hop culture of the 1980s.[20][21] It was also the first mainstream single to feature scratching, and also featured an innovative animated music video, which was directed by Godley and Creme and showed several robot-like artworks by Jim Whiting. The video was a hit on MTV and reached No. 8 in the UK.[22] The video won in five categories at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards. This single ushered in a collaboration with noted bassist and producer Bill Laswell. Hancock experimented with electronic music on a string of three LPs produced by Laswell: Future Shock (1983), the Grammy Award-winning Sound-System (1984), and Perfect Machine (1988).

    During this period, he appeared onstage at the Grammy Awards with Stevie Wonder, Howard Jones, and Thomas Dolby, in a synthesizer jam. Lesser known works from the 1980s are the live album Jazz Africa (1987) and the studio album Village Life (1984), which were recorded with Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso.[23] Also, in 1985 Hancock performed as a guest on the album So Red the Rose (1985) by the Duran Duran spinoff group Arcadia. He also provided introductory and closing comments for the PBS rebroadcast in the United States of the BBC educational series from the mid-1980s, Rockschool (not to be confused with the most recent Gene Simmons' Rock School series).

    In 1986 Hancock performed and acted in the film 'Round Midnight. He also wrote the score/soundtrack, for which he won an Academy Award for Original Music Score. Often he would write music for TV commercials. "Maiden Voyage", in fact, started out as a cologne advertisement. At the end of the Perfect Machine tour, Hancock decided to leave Columbia Records after a 15-plus-year relationship.

    As of June 2005 almost half of his Columbia recordings have been remastered. The first three US releases, Sextant, Head Hunters and Thrust, as well as the last four releases, Future Shock, Sound-System, the soundtrack to Round Midnight, and Perfect Machine. Everything released in America from Man-Child (1975) to Quartet (1982) has yet to be remastered. Some albums, made and initially released in the US, were remastered between 1999 and 2001 in other countries. Hancock also re-released some of his Japan-only releases in the West, such as The Piano.

    1990s to 2000

    Hancock live in concert
    After a break following his leaving of Columbia, Hancock, together with Carter, Williams, Shorter, and Davis admirer Wallace Roney, recorded A Tribute to Miles, which was released in 1994. The album contained two live recordings and studio recording classics, with Roney playing Davis's part as trumpet player. The album won a Grammy for best group album. He also toured with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Pat Metheny in 1990 on their Parallel Realities tour, which included a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1990.

    Hancock's next album, Dis Is da Drum, released in 1994, saw him return to acid jazz. Also in 1994, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African-American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.

    1995's The New Standard found Hancock and an all-star band including John Scofield, DeJohnette and Michael Brecker, interpreting pop songs by Nirvana, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Prince, Peter Gabriel and others.

    A 1997 duet album with Shorter, entitled 1 + 1, was successful; the song "Aung San Suu Kyi" winning the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. Hancock also achieved great success in 1998 with his album Gershwin's World, which featured inventive readings of George and Ira Gershwin standards by Hancock and a plethora of guest stars, including Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Shorter. Hancock toured the world in support of Gershwin's World with a sextet that featured Cyro Baptista, Terri Lynne Carrington, Ira Coleman, Eli Degibri and Eddie Henderson.

    2000 to 2009

    In 2001 Hancock recorded Future2Future, which reunited Hancock with Laswell and featured doses of electronica as well as turntablist Rob Swift of The X-Ecutioners. Hancock later toured with the band, and released a live concert DVD with a different lineup, which also included the "Rockit" music video. Also in 2001 Hancock partnered with Brecker and Roy Hargrove to record a live concert album saluting Davis and John Coltrane, entitled Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall, recorded live in Toronto. The threesome toured to support the album, and toured on-and-off through 2005.


    Hancock performing in concert, 2006

    The year 2005 saw the release of a duet album called Possibilities. It featured duets with Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Sting and others. In 2006 Possibilities was nominated for Grammy Awards in two categories: "A Song for You", (featuring Aguilera) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and "Gelo No Montanha", (featuring Trey Anastasio on guitar, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance, although neither nomination resulted in an award.

    Also in 2005 Hancock toured Europe with a new quartet that included Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke, and explored textures ranging from ambient to straight jazz to African music. Plus, during the summer of 2005, Hancock re-staffed the famous Headhunters and went on tour with them, including a performance at The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. This lineup did not consist of any of the original Headhunters musicians. The group included Marcus Miller, Carrington, Loueke and Mayer. Hancock also served as the first artist in residence for Bonnaroo that summer.

    Also in 2006 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (which bought out Hancock's old label, Columbia Records) released the two-disc retrospective The Essential Herbie Hancock. This set was the first compilation of his work at Warner Bros., Blue Note, Columbia and Verve/Polygram. This became Hancock's second major compilation of work since the 2002 Columbia-only The Herbie Hancock Box, which was released at first in a plastic 4 × 4 cube then re-released in 2004 in a long box set. Also in 2006, Hancock recorded a new song with Josh Groban and Eric Mouquet (co-founder of Deep Forest), entitled "Machine". It is featured on Groban's CD Awake. Hancock also recorded and improvised with guitarist Loueke on Loueke's 1996 debut album Virgin Forest, on the ObliqSound label, resulting in two improvisational tracks – "Le Réveil des agneaux (The Awakening of the Lambs)" and "La Poursuite du lion (The Lion's Pursuit)".

    Hancock, a longtime associate and friend of Mitchell released a 2007 album, River: The Joni Letters, that paid tribute to her work with Norah Jones and Tina Turner, adding vocals to the album,[24] as did Corinne Bailey Rae. Leonard Cohen contributed a spoken piece set to Hancock's piano. Mitchell herself also made an appearance. The album was released on September 25, 2007, simultaneously with the release of Mitchell's newest album at that time: Shine.[25] River won the 2008 Album of the Year Grammy Award, only the second time in history that a jazz album received either[disambiguation needed] honor. The album also won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, and the song "Both Sides Now" was nominated for Best Instrumental Jazz Solo.

    On June 14, 2008 Hancock performed with others at Rhythm on the Vine at the South Coast Winery in Temecula, California, for Shriners Hospitals for Children. The event raised $515,000 for Shriners Hospital.[26]

    On January 18, 2009 Hancock performed at the We Are One concert, marking the start of inaugural celebrations for American President Barack Obama.[27] Hancock also performed Rhapsody in Blue at the 2009 Classical BRIT Awards with classical pianist Lang Lang. Hancock was named as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's creative chair for jazz for 2010–12.[28]

    His latest work includes assisting the production of the Kanye West track "RoboCop", found on 808s & Heartbreak.[citation needed]

    Current work from 2010 to present

    In June 2010 Hancock released The Imagine Project. On June 5, 2010 Hancock received an Alumni Award from his alma mater, Grinnell College.[29] On December 8, 2013 he was given the Kennedy Center Honors Award for achievement in the performing arts with artists like Snoop Dogg and Mixmaster Mike from the Beastie Boys performing his music. He appears on the 5th Flying Lotus studio album "You're Dead," released in October 2014.

    Discography

    Main article: Herbie Hancock discography
    Selected concert films

    2000: DeJohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny – Live in Concert
    2002: Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane! with Ron Carter and Billy Cobham[30]
    2002: The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock (BET on Jazz) with Cyro Baptista, Terri Lynne Carrington, Ira Coleman, Eli Degibri and Eddie Henderson (recorded in 2000)
    2004: Herbie Hancock – Future2Future Live
    2005: Herbie Hancock's Headhunters Watermelon Man (Live in Japan)
    2006: Herbie Hancock – Possibilities with John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone, and more
    Books

    Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (2014) ISBN 978-0-670-01471-2
    Awards

    Hancock presented with Gold Record Award by Kazimierz Pułaski of Sony Music Poland. November 29, 2011
    Academy Awards

    1986, Original Soundtrack, for Round Midnight
    Grammy Awards

    1984, Best R&B Instrumental Performance, for Rockit
    1985, Best R&B Instrumental Performance, for Sound-System
    1988, Best Instrumental Composition, for Call Sheet Blues
    1995, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group, for A Tribute to Miles
    1997, Best Instrumental Composition, for Manhattan (Island of Lights and Love)
    1999, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s), for St. Louis Blues
    1999, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group, for Gershwin's World
    2003, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, for Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
    2003, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, for My Ship
    2005, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, for Speak Like a Child
    2008, Album of the Year, for River: The Joni Letters
    2008, Best Contemporary Jazz Album, for River: The Joni Letters
    2011, Best Improvised Jazz Solo, for A Change Is Gonna Come
    2011, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, for Imagine

    Playboy Music Poll

    Best Jazz Group, 1985
    Best Jazz Keyboards, 1985
    Best Jazz Album – Rockit, 1985
    Best Jazz Keyboards, 1986
    Best R&B Instrumentalist, 1987
    Best Jazz Instrumentalist, 1988
    Keyboard Magazine's Readers Poll

    Best Jazz & Pop Keyboardist, 1983
    Best Jazz Pianist, 1987
    Best Jazz Keyboardist, 1987
    Best Jazz Pianist, 1988
    Other notable awards

    MTV Awards (5 awards in total) – Best Concept Video – Rockit, 1983–84
    Gold Note Jazz Awards – NY Chapter of the National Black MBA Association, 1985
    French Award Officer of the Order of Arts & Letters – Paris, 1985
    BMI Film Music Award Round Midnight, 1986
    U.S. Radio Award "Best Original Music Scoring – Thom McAnn Shoes", 1986
    Los Angeles Film Critics Association "Best Score – Round Midnight", 1986
    BMI Film Music Award Colors, 1989
    Miles Davis Award, granted by the Montreal International Jazz Festival, 1997
    Soul Train Music Award "Best Jazz Album – The New Standard", 1997
    Festival International Jazz de Montreal Prix Miles Davis, 1997
    VH1's 100 Greatest Videos Rockit is "10th Greatest Video", 2001
    NEA Jazz Masters Award, 2004
    Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll Hall of Fame, 2005[31]
    Recipient of the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors
    American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2013[32]
    References

    ^ "Herbie Hancock (American musician)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
    ^ Reiss, Valerie. "Beliefnet Presents: Herbie Hancock on Buddhism, Buddhist, Jazz, Music". Beliefnet.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
    ^ Burk, Greg (February 24, 2008). "He's still full of surprises". The Los Angeles Times.
    ^ "Hancock-Shorter-Ikeda Series on Jazz Published in Japanese". January 30, 2013.
    ^ Reiss, Valerie. "Herbie, Fully Buddhist". Retrieved October 13, 2013.
    ^ "Jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter named UCLA professors" (Press release). University of California Office of Media Relations and Public Outreach. January 8, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
    ^ "Norton Lectures". Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University. February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
    ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/60/Herbie-Hancock.html
    ^ Hentz, Stefan (August 3, 2010). "Herbie Hancock interview". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
    ^ a b c Dobbins, Bill and Kernfeld, Barry. "Herbie Hancock", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed February 19 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
    ^ Coryell, Julie and Friedman, Laura (2000). Jazz-rock fusion, the people, the music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 204. ISBN 0-7935-9941-5.
    ^ "CHRIS ANDERSON". Review of Love Locked Out. Mapleshade Music. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
    ^ The tune "Dr Honoris Causa" written by Joe Zawinul and performed by Cannonball Adderley's quintet is an ironic celebration of the honorary degree.
    ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2010). "Headhunters Herbie Hancock". Allmusic review of Headhunters. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
    ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 242. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
    ^ "Herbie Hancock". Warr.org. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
    ^ Koskoff, Ellen (2005). Music Cultures in the United States: An Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 364. ISBN 0-415-96588-8. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
    ^ Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop Culture. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc. p. 114. ISBN 1-85109-867-4. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
    ^ Keyes, Cheryl Lynette (2004). Rap music and street consciousness. Illinois: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. p. 109. ISBN 0-252-02761-2. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
    ^ Hodgkinson, Will (May 10, 2004). "Culture quake: Rockit". Telegraph. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
    ^ "Meet – Herbie Hancock". Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
    ^ Brown, T. Kutner, J. & Warwick, N. The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press (ISBN 0711990751), 2002, p.447
    ^ [1][dead link]
    ^ Andre Mayer (June 18, 2007). "Key figure: An interview with jazz legend Herbie Hancock". CBC News. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
    ^ "The Official Website of Joni Mitchell". Jonimitchell.com. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
    ^ Shriners Hospitals for Children, "About Rhythm on the Vine", Rhythm on the Vine, 2008.
    ^ "Obama: People Who Love This Country Can Change It". Foxnews. January 18, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
    ^ Haga, E. Herbie Hancock Named L.A. Philharmonic's Next Creative Chair for Jazz, Jazz Times, August 5, 2009.
    ^ Alumni Award: Herbert J. Hancock '60Hancock received an Alumni Award from Grinnell College at the annual Alumni Assembly June 5, 2010.
    ^ "VIEW DVD Listing". View.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
    ^ [2][dead link]
    ^ "American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership". Amacad.org. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
    External links

    Herbie Hancock – official site
    Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock MusiCodex Page
    Herbie Hancock discography at Discogs
    Herbie Hancock at the Internet Movie Database
    Herbie Hancock at Verve Records
    Herbie Hancock album River:The Joni Letters release at Verve Records
    Herbie Hancock fan discography
    Herbie Hancock interview about music and technology at AppleMatters
    Herbie Hancock interview on the "Possibilities" album release at LiveDaily
    Herbie Hancock Outside The Comfort Zone interview at JamBase
    Herbie Hancock Essential Recordings by Ted Gioia at jazz.com
    Herbie Hancock Grinnell College Alumni Award citation, from Grinnell College Alumni Assembly on June 5, 2010
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Review: 'Possibilities' by Herbie Hancock






















How much did Herbie Hancock reveal of his life "Possibilities"?  Quite a bit

You don't have to be a jazz aficionado to be acquainted with Herbie Hancock, a protean musician who has ventured far afield from his jazz and classical roots to become something of an icon of American culture.

Ranging freely from jazz to funk, acoustic to electronic, highbrow to middlebrow, Hancock has been on the radar of anyone even remotely interested in music since 1962, when his aptly named debut album "Takin' Off" launched him into the world's consciousness.








Since then, Hancock has made a personal manifesto of venturing beyond listener expectations, to the delight of millions and the dismay of those who treasured his groundbreaking work as jazz pianist and bandleader. His journey has taken him from a pivotal role in Miles Davis' second great quintet in the 1960s to his Afro-centric Mwandishi band of the early 1970s, from the funk explorations of his Headhunters outfit and the Davis-inspired music of the V.S.O.P. ensemble of the '70s to subsequent experiments in 1980s techno (with "Future Shock" and its hit single "Rockit"), 21st century pop ("River: The Joni Letters") and extensive film scoring (most notably "'Round Midnight," the 1986 Bertrand Tavernier masterpiece that won Hancock an Oscar for best original score and featured the pianist in an acting performance as well)



In effect, Hancock has lived several lives in music and culture, and now, at 74, he has chosen to look back on it all in "Possibilities," a hauntingly candid, lyrically written autobiography that will be welcomed by his fans and perhaps will win over a few skeptics, too. Though the book, penned with Lisa Dickey, has its flaws, the warmth and joy that pervade Hancock's music also radiate from these unflinchingly honest pages.


In recalling his early years growing up on the South Side of Chicago, for instance, Hancock discusses both the loving support of his family and the bipolar rages of his mother; the ebullience of music in the neighborhood; and the terrors of the racism of the day, the latter crystallized by the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till.

"Jet magazine published a full-page close-up photo of Emmett Till's swollen, destroyed face, and although my parents tried to shield us from seeing it, curiosity got the better of me," writes Hancock. "When I picked up the magazine and flipped to the photo, fear and horror shot right through me. No matter how much control I thought I had over my emotions, nothing could have prepared me for seeing the cruelly disfigured face of a boy my age, from my own neighborhood, who'd been brutally murdered for nothing at all. I had nightmares for weeks afterward."

Yet Hancock took his innate optimism forward into the world, in his early 20s landing in the band of trumpet master Davis, whose hunger for perpetual change profoundly influenced Hancock's attitudes on art and life thereafter. Davis' spirit pervades the pages of this book, as Hancock constantly refers to one thing or another that the trumpeter had done to point the way for the younger musician. "Miles represented everything I wanted to be in jazz," writes Hancock, "though at age twenty-two I couldn't imagine achieving it."

Few indeed have matched Davis' track record for altering the course of jazz several times over, but Hancock surely emerged as a force in his own right. As he traces his artistic breakthroughs, he painstakingly takes us through the thought processes that led him to so many far-flung musical destinations.

At the same time, however, Hancock often sounds defensive about his relentless pursuit of large and young audiences, arguing with critics he would be better off ignoring.

He earns the reader's trust, however, with passages of disarming self-criticism and the revelation — first unveiled here — of a crack cocaine habit he fought and ultimately vanquished. Still, Hancock's editors would have done him a favor by trimming back copious discourses on Buddhism, technology and the joy of the Grammy Awards. And the pianist's harsh words about a young Wynton Marsalis clash with the congenial tone of the rest of the book, even as Hancock tries to backpedal by saying, unpersuasively, "we all have our weaknesses."

In the end, though, Hancock has given us a mostly revealing look at his life and artistic methods, in so doing significantly enriching the jazz literature.

Howard Reich is the Tribune's jazz critic, author of five books and writer-producer of the PBS documentary film "Prisoner of Her Past."

"Possibilities"
By Herbie Hancock with Lisa Dickey, Viking, 344 pages, $29.95

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