Herbie Hancock: Fusion of Jazz and Electronic

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Herbie Hancock (1940 – present)
Growing up during the beginnings of MTV exposed me to a lot of popular music and artists. Videos from artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna were a part of my daily life. There was one video that caught my attention because it did not look or sound like anything I had heard before. That video was of a song called “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY
As I have grown older in years (and thankfully with the help of my husband’s vast music collection), I have come to learn more about Hancock’s musical life. His fusion of Jazz and Electronic music has influenced many in the music industry today.
Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago in 1940 and was considered to be a child piano prodigy. At the age of 11 he performed a Mozart Piano concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was not until high school that he started to play Jazz. He was highly influenced by two other Jazz piano greats Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. Evan’s happens to be one of my favorites as well.
Besides his love of Jazz, he also developed a passion …show more content…

By the end of the 1970s he had 11 albums on the charts. The following sums up his contributions to music and influence in the 1980s. “In 1980, Herbie introduced the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to the world as a solo artist, producing his debut album and touring with him as well. In 1983, a new pull to the alternative side led Herbie to a series of collaborations with Bill Laswell. The first, 'Future Shock', again struck platinum, and the single "Rockit" rocked the dance and R&B charts, winning a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental. The video of the track won five MTV awards. 'Sound System', the follow-up, also received a Grammy in the R&B instrumental category.” (http://www.herbiehancock.com/home.php#aboutherbie.php). In the late 1980s he won an Oscar for composting the score to the film “Round

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