Herbie Hancock Trio plays Newport

The Herbie Hancock Trio. For more of their music, click the image

Pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock was born April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. Hancock’s classical piano training started at age 7 and at eleven he performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major with the Chicago Symphony. After a period of self-instruction and studies with jazz pianist Chris Anderson, Hancock gigged with Donald Byrd, Coleman Hawkins, Oliver Nelson and Phil Woods. He joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963 and has remained on top of the art form ever since.

Joining the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. He was certainly one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk music. 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 compositions 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

Personnel:

• Herbie Hancock, piano
• Ron Carter, double bass
• Tony Williams,

Here’s the Herbie Hancock Trio live at the 1988 Newport Jazz Festival.