Herbie Hancock
- Began playing piano at age seven
- Played a solo from the first movement of a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony at the age of 11.
- Studied at Grinnell College
- Was one of the earliest champions of the Rhodes electric piano and Hohner clavinet, synthesizers and computers
- Joined Donald Byrd in 1961 in New York City, and before long
- Played with Miles Davis from 1963 to 1968
- Recorded an elegant funk album, Fat Albert Rotunda, and in 1969 formed a sextet that evolved into one of the most exciting, forward-looking jazz-rock groups of the era.
- Released his The Imagine Project album in 2010, which was recorded in seven countries and featured a host of collaborators, including Dave Matthews, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, the Chieftains, John Legend, India.Arie, Seal, P!nk, Juanes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Chaka Khan, K’NAAN, Wayne Shorter, James Morrison, and Lisa Hannigan.
- He was also named Creative Chair for the New Los Angeles Philharmonic.