MEMORIES:
PHOTOS:
There are few artists who have gained as much respect and prestige in the music business as Herbie Hancock. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s released a huge catalogue of albums, won countless awards, and continues to amaze audiences with his musical vision and his unique, unmistakable voice.
Like countless jazz artists before him, Hancock got his start on the piano playing classical music. At the tender age of 11, he performed a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Once he was off to college at Grinnell, he chose a double major in music and engineering. At 20, Hancock joined a jazz group, and soon landed a deal with Blue Note Records. In 1962 he released his first solo album Takin’ Off. “Watermelon Man” became a hit single, but perhaps more importantly, it caught the eye of Miles Davis.
In 1963, Hancock was asked to be a part of Miles Davis’s new quintet. Davis personally sought out Hancock, who he saw as one of the most promising talents in jazz. The quintet formed from this is often cited as one of the finest jazz ensembles ever put together, with a innovative and flexible rhythm section. During his time there, Hancock found new ways to use common chords in music, and popularized certain chords that weren’t regularly used in jazz.
As he worke with Miles Davis, Hancock found the time to record many sessions for the Blue Note label, both on his own and as a sideman for other musicians, including Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Donald Byrd and many others. 1964’s Empyrean Isles and 1965’s Maiden Voyage went on to become two of the most famous and influential jazz records of the 60s, getting critical praise for their innovation and commercial accessibility. The title track from Maiden Voyage has remained a jazz standard, as well as his hit single from Empyrean Island, “Cantaloupe Island.” “Cantaloupe Island” was also used as a back drop for a rap performed by the group US3, and got considerable play in the late 90s. Herbie Hancock also began a career composing and arranging soundtracks with the 1966 film Blowup.
In the mid-sixties, Miles Davis began to incorporate elements of pop and rock music into his recordings, and soon Hancock began doubling on electric keyboards at Davis’s insistence. This move would be a critical part of Hancock’s future artistic works. In the summer of 1968, Hancock left Davis’s band to form his own sextet. Despite leaving the working band, Hancock would appear on Miles Davis’s records over the next few years.
In 1969, Hancock composed the soundtrack for the Bill Cosby TV show Fat Albert. The record had a heavy R&B influence with jazz overtones. Hancock had become fascinated with combining electronic music and acoustic jazz, influenced by what was emerging on the music scene at the time. He put out a series of experimental jazz recordings, 1971’s Mwandishi, 1972’s Crossings and 1973’s Sextet. The albums contained electronically influenced free-flow improvisations, and were so unconventional that many reviewers didn’t understand or agree with the usage of the equipment.
Motivated by finances, as well as having a bit of artistic restlessness, Hancock moved his sound toward an earthier, funkier beat. He put together a new band, The Headhunters. Their first release, Head Hunters, was a hit in 1973. The album was a successful crossover, though it led to many in the jazz industry to charge him with ‘selling out.’ The following year, The Headhunters released a second album, Thrust, which was met with considerably more praise. In 1973, Hancock composed the soundtrack to the controversial film, The Spook Who Sat By the Door, as well as the 1974 soundtrack to the movie Death Wish Part 1.
Heading back to his roots throughout the late 70s and early 80s, Hancock toured with his V.S.O.P. quintet, a group that featured everyone from the Miles Davis quintet except Davis himself. Also in 1980, he introduced soon-to-be-famous trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to the scene, producing Marsalis’ first record and touring with him. In 1983, Hancock came out with a hit single, “Rockit,” from his album Future Shock. The innovative music video to the all-instrumental single featured an live-action animated break dancing mannequins. The video won in five different categories at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, and picked up a Grammy along the way.
His next albums continued to experiment with electronic sounds, and despite the success of “Rockit” it found no love with the critics. In 1986, Hancock performed and acted in the movie ’Round Midnight, also arranging and writing the score and soundtrack, winning an Academy Award for Original Music Score in the process. Hancock also wrote the soundtracks to other films, such as Colors and Action Jackson. He also did a little work on the side, writing music for TV commercials. His song “Maiden Voyage” started its life as a cologne ad.
With the passing of Miles Davis in 1991, he got together with some of his jazz friends and collaborators, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter and Wallace Roney to record A Tribute to Miles, released in 1994. The album had two live recordings and a series of studio recording classics featuring Roney on the trumpet, winning the album a Grammy award.
In 1994, Hancock went back to ‘acid jazz,’ and award-winning collaborations with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, as well as others. In 2005, the release of the duet album, Possibilities, features duets with Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Sting and many others. “A Song For You” which featured pop vocalist Christina Aguilera got a nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammies.
Interestingly enough, Herbie Hancock is the musical director for the Tokyo Jazz Festival, as well as the Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. He remains the artist in residence at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass in Colorado, a group dedicated to the preservation and performance of jazz and American Music. Decade after decade, Herbie Hancock can be found where he always is, right at the very front of musical battle lines, pushing the boundaries of music, culture and technology.
