Who Is Herbie Hancock?
Herbie Hancock is widely regarded as one of the finest jazz pianists and composers in the history of jazz. He is American (originally from Chicago) where he was born in April 1940. He composes and plays modern jazz which is often regarded as more sophisticated than trad jazz. His real name is Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, Herbie being just an abbreviation. The works for which he is best known are Cantaloupe Island and Watermelon Man, which are still widely heard today. Cantaloupe Island is often used in advertising and is considered an outstanding piece of jazz. Hancock has played with nearly all the jazz greats throughout his career, since joining the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963. He last toured Europe in 2005, playing straightforward modern jazz through to music heavily influenced by African traditional music. Hancock was never formally taught jazz and started off being educated within the classical music genre, although personal preference soon made him turn towards jazz as an adolescent.
