Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor.

Herbie Hancock - Rockit by HerbieHancockVEVO

Starting his career with Donald Byrd, he shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet where Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound.

A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band who provide the underlying rhythm and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band.

The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis.

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter.

Herbie Hancock - Hardrock by HerbieHancockVEVO

Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieve success among pop audiences.

Hancock's best-known compositions include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man", "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit".

"Cantaloupe Island" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock and recorded for his 1964 album Empyrean Isles during his early years as one of the members of Miles Davis' 1960s quintet.

His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award, after Getz/Gilberto in 1965.

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."

Gilberto is the romance version of the Latinized form of Gilbert, used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages.

An album is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape or another medium.