Herbert Jeffrey Hancock

Musician and Composer; Chairman; Professor. Innovative jazz pianist, composer and arranger. He was an early adopter of synthesizers, and has been a leader in fusing many different musical forms while appealing to both jazz purists and a wider public beyond. His early recordings included influential work with Miles Davis and recordings released under his own name including Empyrean Isles and Maiden Voyage. He then developed a 'funk' sound with the band Headhunters that produced several influential recordings. He continued to produce truly influential recordings in many different areas of jazz, from the traditional to various fusion efforts. He collaborated with an astonishing range of musicians from Joni Mitchell to Stevie Wonder to Chick Corea to Wayne Shorter. Many of his compositions, including Maiden Voyage and Cantaloupe Island, are now jazz standards. He has also been very active as an ambassador for jazz and as a jazz educator in many ways, including serving as institute chair of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. He has been recognized as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.