Now in the sixth decade of his professional life, Herbie Hancock remains where he has always been: at the forefront of world culture, technology, business and music. In addition to being recognized as a legendary pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock has been an integral part of every popular music movement since the 1960's. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet that pioneered a groundbreaking sound in jazz, he also developed new approaches on his own recordings, followed by his work in the 70s -- with record-breaking albums such as "Headhunters" -- that combined electric jazz with funk and rock in an innovative style that continues to influence contemporary music. "Rockit" and "Future Shock" marked Hancock's foray into electronic dance sounds; during the same period he also continued to work in an acoustic setting with V.S.O.P., which included ex-Miles Davis bandmates Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams.
Hancock received an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score and 14 Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year for "River: The Joni Letters," and two 2011 Grammy Awards for the recently released globally collaborative CD, "The Imagine Project." Many of his compositions, including "Canteloupe Island," "Maiden Voyage," "Watermelon Man" and "Chameleon," are modern standards..
Hancock serves as Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and as Institute Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. He is a founder of The International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP), and was recently given the "Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres" by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. In 2011 Hancock was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, and in December of 2013, received a Kennedy Center Honor. In 2014 he was was named the 2014 Norton Professor Of Poetry at Harvard University, completing his lectures series, "The Ethics Of Jazz," as part of the Charles Eliot Norton Lecture Series for a period of six weeks. His memoirs, Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, were published by Viking in 2014, and in February 2016 he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. A member of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Hancock is currently in the studio at work on a new album.
