Herbie Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hancock is one of jazz music's most important and influential pianists and composers. He embraced elements of rock, funk, and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz.
As part of Miles Davis' "second great quintet" Hancock helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, and was later one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and Acid Jazz. Yet for all his restless experimentalism, Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "crossover" and achieve success among pop audiences.
Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later perfomed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaria), "Chameleon", and the single "Rockit."
A Soldier's Story (1984)
