Herbie Hancock
If not for the amazing reign of Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock might qualify as jazz's most well-known, popular performer since the '60s. Hancock had 11 albums chart during the '70s and 17 between 1973 and 1984, including three in 1974, figures that puts him well ahead of any other jazz musician in the '70s and beyond. He's also among jazz's finest eclectics, having played everything from bebop to free, jazz-rock, fusion, funk, instrumental pop, dance, hip-hop and world fusion. Hancock's style, greatly influenced by Bill Evans, mixes introspective and energetic elements, and fuses blues and gospel influences with bebop and classical elements. He's both a great accompanist and excellent soloist, whose vocals, phrasing, melodic and interpretative skills and harmonic sounds were impressive early in his career, and remain sharp no matter what style or idiom he's working with. Herbie Hancock, born in 1940, began playing piano at his home in Chicago when he was seven years old. He gave his first public performance two years later, when he performed Mozart's D Major Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony when he was 11, and in high school he picked up an ear for jazz. He formed his own jazz ensemble while attending Hyde Park H
igh School. He was influenced harmonically by the arrangements of Clare Fischer, who provided for The Hi-Los and Robert Farnon's orchestrations of pop songs. In 1997 Hancock released 1+1, a duet session with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The following year he reunited with his old Headhunter band mates, to record an album, Return of the Headhunters, and hit the road for a series of summer concerts. Hancock has displayed far-reaching inventiveness, setting standards for the pop industry. Where his jazz work is concerned, he has displayed an intelligent approach to his material. If the music is often cerebral, it is rarely without heart; indeed, his band's have been notable for their integrity and a measure of passionate intensity. Hancock's first love is jazz, he has skillfully pushed his music into other areas creating a body of work that is breathtaking in its scope. The innovative Headhunters (1973) was the first album on which Hancock used a synthesizer. Up to that point his work was acoustic with the exception of a Rhodes Electric Piano. The album, which became the largest-selling jazz album in history, contained "Chameleon," another of Hancock's crossover hits. Incorporating synthesizers at this pace was mitigated by Hancock's experience with electronics and aptitude for the subject. After a few years, Hancock returned to his roots as an acoustic pianist with the V.S.O.P. Quintet, restarting Miles' band (without Miles), and several ot
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