Herbie Hancock

The Maiden Voyage of Herbie Hancock

Few Artists can claim to have commanded the entire spectrum of jazz and rock as Herbie Hancock has. Considered a child prodigy, Herbie played a movement of a Mozart's piano concerto at age eleven with the Chicago symphony. An awesome feat indeed considering his tender age.

Herbie Hancock has experimented with nearly element of acoustic and electronic jazz imaginable. Starting out as an engineering major gave the savant an early jump on the electronic emergence of jazz, and he pioneered it like no one before him. Of the modern-day jazz masters only Miles Davis may have created more controversy around himself. It is no small wonder that Miles Davis recognized Herbie's genius early on, thus recruiting him to play for his group. This was to be a honing experience for both Herbie and Miles.

Herbie's famous composition Maiden Voyage in many ways was a turning point for the young jazz master. It marked the advent of an extraordinary genius for composition. Crisp, exact, and structurally sound, his talents have been mimicked by every up and coming young musician on the scene throughout his long career. And there are no signs of Herbie slowing down.

Check out his discography, and discover through his music where and how jazz was evolving at any point in the last 40 years of the century. His stage performances are as legendary as the musicians he played with. Herbie was able to manipulate harmonics and acoustics in a way that seemed magical on stage. He single handedly ushered in the advent of the Fender Rhodes piano which gave a lot of amateurs the freedom to lay their own groundwork, and his groundbreaking work with synthesizers and computers has never been equaled to date.

There is no small effect of what such a magnificent talent has had on the world of jazz and music in general. By the time anyone was even close to rivaling what Herbie had done electronically he was once again back on the grand piano setting further standards of excellence in the acoustic realm. Having risen to the top from early on Herbie Hancock was able to branch out in other directions simultaneously. His scoring of the movie Beverly Hills Cop was a mega-hit, and once again labeled Herbie as a maestro in an entirely different creative genre.

Good jazz is able take the listener to worlds unknown. Whether your choice is electronic or acoustic, a concert setting or a quintet, the music of Herbie Hancock is sure to have something for everyone.