Photo: pixgremlin: http://www.aworan.com c/o Pix Gremlin / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Herbie Hancock is a singer-songwriter, bandleader and conductor. Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States on April 12, 1940. That works out to 86 years old in 2026. Schooling on record includes Hyde Park Academy High School and Grinnell College. Listed accolades include Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance (1983, 1984), MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing (1984), MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction (1984) and 4 more.
My Take
Herbie Hancock is, for me, the eternal adventurer of jazz. As a young architect of the post-bop sound alongside Miles Davis, then later jolting the world with Watermelon Man and the synth-driven Rockit, he never once stood still. Grammys and an Academy Award are impressive, but what astonishes me more is his unquenchable curiosity well into his eighties. He treats genre boundaries as suggestions, gliding from acoustic jazz to funk to electronic music with ease. I believe the artists who refuse to play it safe are the ones who matter most, and few have earned the title keyboard magician as fully as he has.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Herbie Hancock
- Name (Japanese)
- ハービー・ハンコック
- Reading
- はーびー・はんこっく
- Born
- April 12, 1940 (age 86)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Dragon
- Origin
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Occupation
- singer-songwriter / bandleader / conductor / jazz musician / keyboardist
2. Background
- High school
- Hyde Park Academy High School
- University
- Grinnell College
Awards & achievements
- 1983 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
- 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing
- 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
- 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Best Concept Video
- 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Most Experimental Video
- 1984 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
- 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects
- 1987 Academy Award for Best Original Score
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.herbiehancock.com
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/herbiehancock/
- Xhttps://x.com/herbiehancock
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie%20Hancock
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8F%E3%83%BC%E3%83%93%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105875
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Herbie Hancock born?
Born April 12, 1940 (age 86).
Where is Herbie Hancock from?
Herbie Hancock is from Chicago, Illinois, United States.
What does Herbie Hancock do?
Herbie Hancock works as singer-songwriter, bandleader, conductor, jazz musician, keyboardist.
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