Biography
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, he experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles using a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this time that he released one of his best-known and most influential albums, Head Hunters.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA
Awards & recognition
- Polar Music Prize · 2025
- Kennedy Center Honors · 2013
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2010
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals · 2010
- Grammy Hall of Fame · 2008
Show all 69 awards →
- Grammy Award — Best Contemporary Jazz Album · 2007
- Grammy Award — Album of the Year · 2007
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2004
- NEA Jazz Masters · 2004
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 2002
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2002
- Soul Train Music Award — Best Jazz Album · 1999
- Grammy Award — Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals · 1998
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 1998
- Grammy Hall of Fame · 1998
- Soul Train Music Award — Best Jazz Album · 1997
- Grammy Award — Best Instrumental Composition · 1996
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 1994
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame · 1994
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1987
- César Award — Best Music Written for a Film · 1987
- Grammy Award — Best Instrumental Composition · 1987
- Grammy Award — Best R&B Instrumental Performance · 1984
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Visual Effects · 1984
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Editing · 1984
- MTV Video Music Award — Most Experimental Video · 1984
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Concept Video · 1984
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Art Direction · 1984
- Grammy Award — Best R&B Instrumental Performance · 1983
- Library of Congress Living Legend
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Duo or Group · 2013 · nominated
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Album · 2013 · nominated
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Duo or Group · 2011 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2010 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals · 2010 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals · 2010 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Contemporary Jazz Album · 2007 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Album of the Year · 2007 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals · 2005 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Instrumental Performance · 2005 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2004 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Performance · 2002 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 2002 · nominated
- Soul Train Music Award — Best Jazz Album · 1999 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 1998 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals · 1998 · nominated
- Soul Train Music Award — Best Jazz Album · 1997 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Instrumental Composition · 1996 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Music Video · 1995 · nominated
- Soul Train Music Award — Best Jazz Album · 1995 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Jazz Instrumental Album · 1994 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1987 · nominated
- BAFTA Award — Best Original Music · 1987 · nominated
- César Award — Best Music Written for a Film · 1987 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Rock Instrumental Performance · 1987 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Instrumental Composition · 1987 · nominated
- Golden Globe Award — Best Original Score · 1986 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best R&B Instrumental Performance · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Most Experimental Video · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Editing · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Concept Video · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Visual Effects · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Video of the Year · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Male Video · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award — Best Art Direction · 1984 · nominated
- MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice · 1984 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best R&B Instrumental Performance · 1983 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best R&B Instrumental Performance · 1979 · nominated
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Instrumental Performance · 1974 · nominated
Filmography42 titles
That Click
Girl Meets World
Classic Albums
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Blow-Up
Tuner
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Keep on Keepin' On
Traffic
'Round Midnight
Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes
Hargrove
Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes
A Man's Story
Saturday Night Live
Death Wish
A Soldier's Story
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
StarTalk
Colors
Miles Ahead
Indecent Proposal
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
On the Shoulders of Giants
The George McKenna Story
The Girls in the Band
Harlem Nights
Great Performances
Marcus
Charles Lloyd - Arrows Into Infinity
Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Action Jackson
Hitters
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
Buster Williams Bass to Infinity
River of Gold
Music
Bobby McFerrin: Spontaneous Inventions