Hancock, Herbie (Herbert Jeffrey) (1940– )

US jazz musician.A classically trained pianist, he emerged playing with Miles Davis in 1963 and began leading his own stylistically wide-ranging groups in 1968. He pioneered a jazz-funk fusion sound in jazz standards such as ‘Cantaloupe Island’ (1964). His single ‘Rockit’ (1983) was one of the first to feature turntable scratching and mixing techniques.

Hancock's River: The Joni Letters (2007), a tribute album to Joni Mitchell, won the 2008 Grammy Album of the Year award.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and studied classical piano from an early age. His first solo album, Takin' Off (1962), garnered the attention of Davis, and he joined Davis's quintet the following year.