Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock was born on this day in 1940; he is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer and today he celebrates his 72nd birthday!
The Jazz pioneer has inked a book deal with Viking press to release his memoirs in 2014! In a statement on Hancock’s website, Viking president Clare Ferraro said, “We are proud to have as distinguished and articulate a musician as Herbie Hancock join Viking’s music list. There are few artists in any genre who have had a career as rich and influential as Mr. Hancock’s, and his memoir promises to be not only the record of a remarkable life and career but a singular chronicle of one of the most fertile periods in the development of jazz.”
Hancock, who has been playing the piano since age 7, has won 14 Grammy’s and an Academy Award in 1986 for the score to Round Midnight. Some of Mr. Hancock’s other notable awards include:
- MTV Awards (5 awards in total) – Best Concept Video – Rockit, 1983–84
- Gold Note Jazz Awards – NY Chapter of the National Black MBA Association, 1985
- French Award Officer of the Order of Arts & Letters – Paris, 1985
- BMI Film Music Award Round Midnight, 1986
- U.S. Radio Award “Best Original Music Scoring – Thom McAnn Shoes“, 1986
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association “Best Score – Round Midnight“, 1986
- BMI Film Music Award Colors, 1989
- Miles Davis Award, granted by the Montreal International Jazz Festival, 1997
- Soul Train Music Award “Best Jazz Album – The New Standard“, 1997
- Festival International Jazz de Montreal Prix Miles Davis, 1997
- VH1’s 100 Greatest Videos Rockit is “10th Greatest Video”, 2001
- NEA Jazz Masters Award, 2004
- Downbeat Magazine Readers Poll Hall of Fame, 2005
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERBIE HANCOCK!