On Wednesday, August 29, 2007, Fairfield County is in for a gigantic treat with the appearance of the great American pianist, composer, and jazz leader, Herbie Hancock at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Hancock's ability to navigate various musical genres and experiment with traditional boundaries of composition and performance has made him a unique figure in 20th and 21st century music. He not only has an enormous jazz catalog but is an accomplished composer of movie and television soundtracks including Blowup, Death Wish, A Soldier's Story, 'Round Midnight, Colors, Charlie's Angels, Comedian, Are We Done Yet? etc.
Born in Chicago on April 12, 1940, he was a piano prodigy who performed the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto in D major with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of eleven. He attended Grinnell College where he had a dual major of music and electrical engineering. By this time, his classical music interests included jazz, as he played with the saxophone player Coleman Hawkins and trumpet player Donald Byrd in Chicago's clubs. He moved to New York with the Byrd quintet where he made his first album as a leader under the Blue Note label. This album, Takin’ off, demonstrated his funky blues style in the pieces "Driftin" and "Watermelon Man".
He played piano, electric piano, and organ with the Miles Davis quintet and performed on Davis' seminal albums, In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. During this time, he composed the notable jazz pieces "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance". He utilized his engineering skills with the adoption of musical synthesizers on the album Headhunters. His performances encompassed traditional, free, and acoustic jazz; he holds the distinction of joining jazz with electro funk fusion.
He is the recipient of Grammy Awards, MTV Video Awards, Gold Note Jazz Awards, French Award Officer of the Order of Arts & Letters, an Oscar, Playboy Music Poll Award, and NEA Jazz Masters Award.
The Library invites you to check out his Cantaloupe Island, The Herbie Hancock Box, Perfect Machine, and Possibilities.