HERBIE HANCOCK - EMPYREAN ISLES

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born 12 April 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboard player, bandleader and composer. He began his professional career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group before joining the Miles Davis Quintet, where he played a significant role in the development of the post-bop style and expanded the role of the jazz rhythm section. During the 1970s, he explored jazz fusion, funk and electronic music, making extensive use of synthesizers and electronic instruments. His album "Head Hunters" is among his most commercially successful and influential recordings. Hancock's best-known compositions include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man", "Maiden Voyage" and "Chameleon", all of which have become jazz standards. In the 1980s, he achieved international commercial success with the instrumental single "Rockit", a collaboration with bassist and producer Bill Laswell. He has received numerous honours, including an Academy Award, 14 Grammy Awards and the 2025 Polar Music Prize. His 2007 album "River: The Joni Letters", a tribute to Joni Mitchell, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Since 2012, Hancock has been a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He also serves as chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, formerly known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Winnie Belle Hancock (née Griffin), a secretary, and Wayman Edward Hancock, a government meat inspector. He was named after singer and actor Herb Jeffries and attended Hyde Park High School. He began studying piano at the age of seven and also received classical piano training. At the age of 11, he performed the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, K. 537, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although he did not study jazz formally during his youth, Hancock developed his musical style by listening to recordings by musicians including Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, George Shearing, Erroll Garner, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. He also cited the vocal group the Hi-Lo's, arranger Clare Fischer, Maurice Ravel and Gil Evans as important influences on his harmonic approach. In 1960, he briefly studied with pianist Chris Anderson, whom he later described as a major influence. Hancock graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1960 with degrees in electrical engineering and music before returning to Chicago. He worked with Donald Byrd and Coleman Hawkins while also studying at Roosevelt University. Byrd encouraged him to study composition with Vittorio Giannini in New York. Hancock quickly established himself as a session musician, recording with artists including Oliver Nelson and Phil Woods. His debut album, "Takin' Off", was released by Blue Note Records in 1962. Its composition "Watermelon Man" became a hit for Mongo Santamaría and attracted the attention of Miles Davis, leading to Hancock's introduction to Davis by drummer Tony Williams. In 1963, Hancock joined the Miles Davis Quintet, alongside Ron Carter, Tony Williams and, later, Wayne Shorter. The group became one of the most influential jazz ensembles of the 1960s. During this period, Hancock continued recording extensively for Blue Note as both a leader and sideman, working with musicians including Wayne Shorter, Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard and Eric Dolphy. Albums such as "My Point of View", "Inventions and Dimensions", "Speak Like a Child" and "The Prisoner" expanded his compositional and arranging style. Hancock also composed film and commercial music during the 1960s, including the score for Michelangelo Antonioni's film "Blowup". Towards the end of his time with Davis, he adopted electric keyboards, including the Fender Rhodes electric piano, reflecting Davis's increasing interest in rock and popular music. Although he left Davis's touring band in 1968, he continued contributing to albums including "In a Silent Way", "A Tribute to Jack Johnson" and "On the Corner". After leaving Blue Note Records in 1969, Hancock signed with Warner Bros. Records. He composed the soundtrack for the television special "Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert", with music later appearing on the album "Fat Albert Rotunda". Around this time, he became increasingly interested in electronic instruments, leading to the formation of a sextet that later expanded into a septet with synthesiser player Patrick Gleeson. This group recorded the albums "Mwandishi", "Crossings" and "Sextant", combining jazz improvisation with electronic textures. These recordings later became collectively known as the "Mwandishi" albums. In 1973, Hancock formed the Headhunters, featuring Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Bill Summers and Harvey Mason. Their first album, "Head Hunters", achieved major commercial success and became one of the best-selling jazz albums of its time. It was followed by "Thrust", while the band later continued independently with "Survival of the Fittest". Hancock reunited with the Headhunters in 1998 for "Return of the Headhunters". During the 1970s, he also composed film scores for "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" and "Death Wish", and released further jazz-funk albums including "Man-Child" and "Secrets". During the late 1970s, Hancock reunited with former Miles Davis colleagues for the VSOP project, which featured Freddie Hubbard in place of Davis. He also recorded the solo piano album "The Piano" and several live albums released initially only in Japan. Between 1978 and 1982, he explored disco, pop and electronic music, using a vocoder on albums including "Sunlight" and "Feets, Don't Fail Me Now". In 1982, he contributed a synthesiser solo to the Simple Minds album "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)". Hancock achieved widespread commercial success in 1983 with the album "Future Shock" and its single "Rockit". The recording combined jazz, electronic music and hip-hop elements, while its accompanying music video received several awards at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards. Hancock continued working with Bill Laswell on the albums "Sound-System" and "Perfect Machine". During the same decade, he collaborated with artists including Stevie Wonder, Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, Foday Musa Suso and Arcadia, and composed film scores for productions including "Round Midnight", "A Soldier's Story", "Action Jackson", "Colors" and "Harlem Nights". His score for "Round Midnight" won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. After leaving Columbia Records, Hancock returned to recording in the 1990s with projects including "A Tribute to Miles", recorded with Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter and Wallace Roney. He also collaborated with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Pat Metheny on the "Parallel Realities" tour. His album "Dis Is da Drum" reflected contemporary acid jazz influences, while "The New Standard" featured interpretations of songs by artists including Nirvana, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Prince and Peter Gabriel. His duet album "1+1" with Wayne Shorter won a Grammy Award, and "Gershwin's World" featured interpretations of works by George and Ira Gershwin. In the 2000s, Hancock reunited with Bill Laswell for "Future2Future" and recorded "Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall" with Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove. His 2005 album "Possibilities" featured collaborations with artists including Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, John Mayer, Christina Aguilera and Sting. He also resumed touring with a new version of the Headhunters and served as the first artist in residence at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. In 2007, Hancock released "River: The Joni Letters", a tribute to Joni Mitchell featuring guest performances by Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae and Leonard Cohen. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, becoming one of the few jazz recordings to receive that honour. During this period, he also performed at charity events, participated in celebrations marking the inauguration of President Barack Obama and was appointed the Los Angeles Philharmonic's creative chair for jazz for the 2010-2012 season. Hancock released "The Imagine Project" in 2010 and was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of intercultural dialogue in 2011. In 2013, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013 and served as the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University in 2014, delivering a lecture series entitled "The Ethics of Jazz". He has continued collaborating with artists including Flying Lotus, Terrace Martin, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Lionel Loueke, Zakir Hussain, Snoop Dogg, Domi and JD Beck. He has also received honorary degrees from several universities and has continued performing internationally, including appearances at the Glastonbury Festival in 2022 and the Arise Fashion Week & Jazz Festival in Nigeria in 2023. In 2025, he was named one of the recipients of the Polar Music Prize. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Hancock Studio albums Takin' Off (1962) My Point of View (1963) Inventions & Dimensions (1964) Empyrean Isles (1964) Maiden Voyage (1965) Speak Like a Child (1968) The Prisoner (1969) Fat Albert Rotunda (1969) Mwandishi (1971) Crossings (1972) Sextant (1973) Head Hunters (1973) Dedication (1974) Thrust (1974) Man-Child (1975) Secrets (1976) Third Plane (1977) Herbie Hancock Trio (1977) Sunlight (1978) Directstep (1979) The Piano (1979) Feets, Don't Fail Me Now (1979) Monster (1980) Mr. Hands (1980) Magic Windows (1981) Herbie Hancock Trio (1982) Quartet (1982) Lite Me Up (1982) Future Shock (1983) Sound-System (1984) Village Life (1985) Perfect Machine (1988) A Tribute to Miles (1994) Dis Is da Drum (1994) The New Standard (1996) 1+1 (1997) Gershwin's World (1998) Future 2 Future (2001) Possibilities (2005) River: The Joni Letters (2007) The Imagine Project (2010) Read more on Last.fm. 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