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Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Acting · Sound · Writing

Born April 12, 1940, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet", Hancock helped 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. 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. As a member of Soka Gakkai, Hancock is an adherent of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism.

Filmography

Appearances as themselves (77)
  • 2025Herbie — Self (Archives)
  • 2024Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra — Self
  • 2024Henry Mancini: 100 at the Hollywood Bowl — Self
  • 2023Joni Mitchell - The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song — Self
  • 2023They All Came Out to Montreux — Self
  • 2022Hargrove — Self
  • 2022Herbie Hancock - Live at SummerStage 2022 — Self
  • 2022Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens — Self
  • 2022Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes — Self
  • By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem — Self
  • 2019Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes — Self
  • 2019Buster Williams Bass to Infinity — Himself
  • 2019International Jazz Day Australia Concert 2019 — Self
  • 2019Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool — Self - Musician
  • 2019That Click — Self
  • 2018It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story — Self
  • 2018Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones — Self
  • 2017Chick Corea: The Musician — Self
  • 2016Jazz at the White House — Self
  • 2016More Than Jazz — Himself
  • Jay Leno's Garage — Self
  • 2015Kareem: Minority of One — Self
  • 2015Marcus — Self
  • StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson — Self
  • Girl Meets World — Self
  • 2014Herbie Hancock Trio - Full Concert - 08/14/88 - Newport Jazz Festival — Self
  • 2014Keep on Keepin' On — Self
  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self
  • 2013Experience Montreux — Self
  • 2012Lang Lang & Herbie Hancock - Live in Berlin — Himself
  • 2011A Man's Story — Self
  • 2011A MusiCares Tribute To Barbra Streisand — Self - Performer
  • 2011All-Star Jazz Show: Live from The Ed Sullivan Theater — Self
  • 2011Tribute to Miles - Jazz à Vienne — Himself
  • 2010DeJohnette, Metheny, Holland, Hancock - Parallel Realities Live — Himself
  • 2010Music — Self
  • 2009We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial — Self
  • 2008Miles Davis: Kind of Blue — Self
  • 2008Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux — Self
  • 2008Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound — Self
  • 2006Herbie Hancock: Possibilities — Self
  • 2006Marcus Miller - Master Of All Trades — Self
  • 2004Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments — Self
  • 2004Larry presents: Best of The 80s — Self
  • 2004Miles Electric - A Different Kind of Blue — Self
  • 2004One Night with Blue Note — Self
  • 2003Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind — Self
  • 2003Prachtig 80: Volume 2 — Self
  • The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
  • 2002Herbie Hancock Future2future Live — Himself
  • 2002The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock — Himself
  • 2002World of Rhythm - Live in Lugano — Self
  • 1997Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz — Self
  • Classic Albums — Self
  • Glastonbury — Self
  • 1995Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute — Self - Pianist
  • 1995Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar — Self
  • ECHO-Verleihung — Self
  • 1991Branford Marsalis: Steep — Self
  • 1991Miles Davis - At La Villette — Himself
  • 1990Celebrity Guide to Wine — Self
  • 1990Jazz Under the Skies — Self
  • 1987Bobby McFerrin: Spontaneous Inventions — Himself
  • 1987Herbie Hancock At The Munich Summer Piano Festival — Himself
  • 1986Before Midnight — Self (archive footage)
  • 1986Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis — Self
  • 1985The Making of Sun City — Self
  • 1984Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane! — Self - Piano
  • 1984I Love Quincy — Self
  • Saturday Night Live — Self - Musical Guest
  • Rock Concert — Self
  • Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest — Self
  • Great Performances — Self
  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
  • The Grammys — Self
  • Herbie Hancock - Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2010 — Self — Acoustic piano / Keyboards
  • Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band — Self
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