Herbie Hancock
Sound • Born 1940-04-12
Biography
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
99 credits
The Girls in the Band
Movie • 2011
Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz
Movie • 1997
Self
Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!
Movie • 1984
Self - Piano
Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
Movie • 2006
Self
'Round Midnight
Movie • 1986
Eddie Wayne
Larry presents: Best of The 80s
Movie • 2004
Self
World of Rhythm - Live in Lugano
Movie • 2002
Self
Joni Mitchell - The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song
Movie • 2023
Self
Dejohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny in Concert
Movie • 1990
Hitters
Movie • 2002
District Attorney
Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux
Movie • 2008
Self
One Night with Blue Note
Movie • 2004
Self
Marcus Miller - Master Of All Trades
Movie • 2006
Self
Keep On Keepin' On
Movie • 2014
Self
Herbie Hancock: Jazz Channel
Movie • 2001
Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock Future2future Live
Movie • 2002
Himself
Herbie Hancock At The Munich Summer Piano Festival
Movie • 1987
Himself
Lang Lang & Herbie Hancock - Live in Berlin
Movie • 2012
Himself
The Neville Brothers: Tell It Like It Is
Movie • 1991
Tribute to Miles - Jazz à Vienne
Movie • 2011
Himself
Miles Davis - At La Villette
Movie • 1991
Himself
I Love Quincy
Movie • 1984
Self
Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens
Movie • 2022
DeJohnette, Metheny, Holland, Hancock - Parallel Realities Live
Movie • 2010
Himself
All-Star Jazz Show: Live from The Ed Sullivan Theater
Movie • 2011
Self
Celebrity Guide to Wine
Movie • 1990
Self
Herbie Hancock - Live at SummerStage 2022
Movie • 2022
Self
Hargrove
Movie • 2022
Self
The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock
Movie • 2002
Himself
Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue
Movie • 2004
Self
Bobby McFerrin: Spontaneous Inventions
Movie • 1987
Himself
The Making of Sun City
Movie • 1985
Self
Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes
Movie • 2022
Self
A MusiCares Tribute To Barbra Streisand
Movie • 2011
Self - Performer
Experience Montreux
Movie • 2013
Self
Prachtig 80: Volume 2
Movie • 2003
Self
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Movie • 2019
Self - Musician
Herbie Hancock Special
Movie • 2004
Herbie Hancock - The River Of Possibilities Tour - Jazz a Vienne
Movie • 2008
Piano
Live at Munich Summer Piano Festiva
Movie • 1988
Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra
Movie • 2024
Self
Miles Ahead
Movie • 2016
Live Concert Band
Jazz at the White House
Movie • 2016
Self
They All Came Out to Montreux
Movie • 2023
Self
Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band Live in London
Movie
Themself
Herbie Hancock Trio - Full Concert - 08/14/88 - Newport Jazz Festival
Movie • 2014
Self
Jazz Under the Skies
Movie • 1990
Self
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Movie • 2017
Defence Minister
Indecent Proposal
Movie • 1993
Himself
Miles Davis: Around Midnight
Movie • 2011
Piano
Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute
Movie • 1995
Self - Pianist
Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind
Movie • 2003
Self
Kareem: Minority of One
Movie • 2015
Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
Movie • 2004
Self
Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland: Parallel Realities Live... (Live at Mellon Jazz Festival)
Movie • 1990
Keyboards
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes
Movie • 2019
Self
Gustavo Dudamel and Herbie Hancock Celebrate Gershwin
Movie • 2011
Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar
Movie • 1995
Self
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
Movie • 2008
Self
Charles Lloyd - Arrows Into Infinity
Movie • 2014
Piano
It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story
Movie • 2018
Self
Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound
Movie • 2008
Self
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis
Movie • 1986
Self
Music
Movie • 2010
Self
International Jazz Day Australia Concert 2019
Movie • 2019
Self
Marcus
Movie • 2015
Self
Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones
Movie • 2018
Self
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Movie • 2009
Self
That Click
Movie • 2019
Self
On the Shoulders of Giants
Movie • 2011
Branford Marsalis: Steep
Movie • 1991
Self
Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux
Movie • 2004
More Than Jazz
Movie • 2016
Himself
Buster Williams Bass to Infinity
Movie • 2019
Himself
River of Gold
Movie • 2016
Narrator
Wayne Shorter: Live at Montreux 1996
Movie • 1996
PBS Soundstage 1974: Chick Corea & Return to Forever + Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters
Movie • 1974
Miles Davis Quintet: Milan 1964
Movie • 1964
Herbie
Movie • 2025
Self (Archives)
A Man's Story
Movie • 2011
Self
Herbie Hancock And The Rockit Band
Movie
Self
Before Midnight
Movie • 1986
Self (archive footage)
Chick Corea: The Musician
Movie • 2017
Self
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV • 2003
Self
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
TV • 1972
Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV • 1992
Rock Concert
TV • 1973
Self
StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson
TV • 2015
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Musical Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
ECHO-Verleihung
TV • 1992
Self
Classic Albums
TV • 1997
Self
Jay Leno's Garage
TV • 2015
Self
Girl Meets World
TV • 2014
Self
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Self
Kulturzeit
TV • 1995
self
The Grammys
TV • 1959
Self
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
TV • 2020
Self