Hancock, Herbie (EN)

Hancock Herbie, full name Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, *12 April 1940 Chicago, American pianist and jazz composer. Self-taught; he has been playing the piano since 1947 and has been interested in jazz since 1954, influenced by G. Shearing, then O. Peterson and W. Kelly. In 1960, he made his debut in New York with D. Byrd’s group, from whom he learned compositional techniques. Hancock later collaborated with O. Nelson, P. Woods, H. Mobley, L. Morgan and various groups, including entertainment bands. From 1962 to 1963, he performed with E. Dolphy. In 1963, Hancock gained popularity as a composer thanks to Watermelon Man, a piece in the gospel style. Between 1963 and 1968, he was the pianist in Miles Davis Quintet; during this period, he developed a brilliant playing technique, recorded extensively and composed for Davis and his own bands. He received numerous collaboration offers from leading jazz musicians, thanks to Davis. In 1968, Hancock formed a sextet, to which he incorporated electronic keyboards in 1971. In 1973, he recorded the album Head Hunters with the hit song Chameleon, which solidified his interest in popular music, especially R&B and rock. In 1974, Hancock, considered a pioneer of jazz fusion, began using synthesizers himself. He won a number of prestigious awards, topped polls as an instrumentalist and best jazz musician, although he performed with soul musicians. From 1976 to 1977, he led the V.S.O.P. quintet (Very Special Onetime Performance: Freddie Hubbard – trumpet, Wayne Shorter – tenor and alto saxophone, Ron Carter – double bass, Tony Williams – drums), continuing the style and sound of acoustic blue note jazz, characteristic especially of Davis’s quintets of the 1960s. In 1978, under the influence of Buddhism, he adopted the nickname Mwandishi. In 1979, he began performing in a duo with pianist Chick Corea. At the same time, he turned increasingly towards popular music (disco), experimenting with funk and trying his hand at singing. At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, he recorded as an electric and acoustic pianist with Q. Jones, M. Vitouš, and vocalists J. Mitchell and F. Purim. In 1981, he organised V.S.O.P. II (W. Marsalis – trumpet, Carter and Williams), which was expanded to a quintet in 1983 (B. Marsalis – tenor saxophone). In 1984, during MIDEM (Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale) in Cannes, he performed Rockit, a disco track with an innovative sound, recorded on multiple synthesizers and accompanied by a new pop-funk band. In 1988, together with Shorter and Carter, he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (Call Sheet Blues).

Already in the 1960s, critics have noted that in Hancock’s compositions the emphasis on timbre often takes precedence over conventional chordal structure. In the 1970s, Hancock demonstrated the full range of the acoustic piano and his own interpretative abilities. While “rhythm is the starting point for all action” in his music, he is primarily “master of altered, chromatic harmony.” Hancock used his outstanding skills in using electronic sound as a “soundscape” in film scores, composing soundtracks for Blow Up (1966), The Spook Who Sat By the Door (1972), Death Wish (1974), The Bitch (1979), A Soldier’s Story (1984), Colors (1987), and Harlem Nights (1989). In 1986, he appeared in the jazz film Round Midnight, for which he composed the music (and received an Oscar). The title of the film served as the name of the new band with which Hancock played in Warsaw in 1986 at the Jazz Jamboree.