Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
Name	Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
Formation	1986
Founder	Herbie Hancock
Type	Nonprofit foundation
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Leader title	President
Leader name	Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a nonprofit organization founded to support jazz education, performance, and preservation. The Institute develops programs that connect students with master artists, presents concerts and festivals, awards scholarships and residencies, and partners with cultural institutions worldwide. Its activities intersect with major figures, venues, and institutions in jazz and broader music worlds.

History

The organization was established in 1986 by pianist Herbie Hancock, following collaborations with artists such as Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, and Tony Williams. Early initiatives drew on relationships with venues like the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl, and with institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, National Endowment for the Arts, and UNESCO. The Institute expanded through partnerships with conservatories such as the Berklee College of Music, The Juilliard School, and the New England Conservatory of Music, and with international festivals including the Montreux Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival. Over decades the organization engaged artists spanning generations—Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Ornette Coleman, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Nat King Cole, Buddy Rich, Herb Alpert, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington Orchestra alumni, and modern figures like Wynton Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, and Kamasi Washington.

Programs and Education Initiatives

Programs include the International Jazz Competition, high school curriculum projects, and master classes connecting students with artists such as Branford Marsalis, Kurt Elling, Pat Metheny, Regina Carter, and Marcus Miller. Educational initiatives partner with school districts like Los Angeles Unified School District, collegiate programs at University of North Texas, and conservatory training models exemplified by Manhattan School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The Institute’s curricula reference repertoire from composers and bandleaders including Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Workshops bring together pedagogues associated with Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Academy of Music, and the Conservatoire de Paris.

Performance Ensembles and Festivals

The Institute fields performance ensembles that have appeared alongside organizations such as Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and in festivals including Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and Jazz at Lincoln Center programs. Touring ensembles have collaborated with conductors like Michael Tilson Thomas and artists like Annie Lennox, Carlos Santana, Diana Krall, Paul Simon, and Yo-Yo Ma. The Institute’s concerts feature repertoire linked to composers and arrangers such as Gordon Goodwin, Thad Jones, Quincy Jones, Gil Evans, and Maria Schneider.

Scholarships and Residencies

Scholarships and residency programs support students at institutions including Berklee College of Music, The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the Royal College of Music. Residency partnerships have placed fellows with ensembles such as the Count Basie Orchestra, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and institutions like the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Award recipients have gone on to fellowships and prizes such as the MacArthur Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize for Music, Grammy Awards, and accolades from the National Medal of Arts.

Partnerships and Outreach

The Institute collaborates with cultural, civic, and educational partners including UNESCO, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the National Endowment for the Arts, and municipal arts agencies in cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town. Corporate and philanthropic partners include foundations linked to the Ford Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and private bodies that support programming at venues like Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House, and Getty Center. Outreach projects have involved media partners such as PBS, NPR, BBC Radio, and streaming platforms that archive performances alongside catalogs from labels like Blue Note Records, Columbia Records, Verve Records, and ECM Records.

Notable Alumni and Faculty

Alumni and faculty associated with the Institute include established and emerging artists who have worked with ensembles and institutions such as Miles Davis Quintet alumni, Weather Report members, and soloists linked to Blue Note Records and Impulse! Records. Names connected by teaching, mentorship, or performance roles include Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Esperanza Spalding, Kurt Elling, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride, Terence Blanchard, Eric Harland, Ambrose Akinmusire, Fred Hersch, Avery Sharpe, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Lionel Loueke, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Hiromi Uehara, Russell Malone, Jon Batiste, Gary Burton, Mulatu Astatke, and Lester Young scholars and interpreters.

Category:Jazz education organizations