Herbie Hancock

Bryan Bell was given the task of engineering a working synthesizer using all of Herbie Hancock’s favorite keyboards back in the early 1970s, well before MIDI. Herbie’s single instruction to Bryan was that he wanted all of the sounds of his 20 plus instruments powered and fully controlled by one unit, allowing Herbie to make all of the musical changes on his entire bank of synthesizers. Bryan succeeded and went on to play a vital role as one of the music industry’s most innovative sound engineers.

Gary Chang's career spans four decades of collaboration with luminaries in film, recording and music. As a student of Morton Subotnick at the California Institute of the Arts, he emerged as a leading figure in music technology, playing and programming for artists like Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Weather Report in the 1980s.

Mike Clark helped established the funk-based drumming sound that emerged out of Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s and 70s. In fact, his “The Funk Stops Here” was used for a radio ad before he recorded it with Herbie Hancock, as an original member of the Head Hunters. Mike’s creative and driving style has become an important part of funk drumming and his most famous beats can be heard on R&B and Hip Hop recordings by countless performers as samples.

DJ GrandMixer DXT brought the turntable front and center as a musical instrument!  DXT is a proud member of the "first generation" of DJs in the dawn of Hip-Hop.  When he recorded a session that was played for Herbie Hancock, the result was the breakthrough hit instrumental "Rockit."  The success of the song resulted in Herbie hiring DXT to join his band and tour, with his turntables on stage!  A new era of musical instrumentation was born.

Rich Formidoni cut his teeth in the industry as a salesman in the keyboard division of Sam Ash Music in Queens, New York. That experience led to his move to Korg in 2005 as a product specialist. The move was the perfect fit for Rich who was then tasked with producing demo videos, artist relations and enhancing the company’s website. Loving the products, Rich fell right into the development of new products such as voicing presets and being a part of product launches such as the Korg Kronos Workstation, for which he worked with Herbie Hancock and other artists to perfect the voicing

Herbie Hancock's career as a musician and performer spans six decades. He was a member of the legendary Miles Davis Quintet and gave the world "Head Hunters" (jazz's first platinum album) and other crossover hits such as the Grammy-winning "Rockit."

Billy Hart was born in Washington DC, where he was exposed to the drums at a young age. He worked with several R&B groups before landing an important gig with the jazz singer Shirley Horn, who taught Billy the fundamentals of working with a soloist. In the mid 1960s Billy performed with Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith followed by a four-year gig with Herbie Hancock. As a member of Herbie’s sextet from 1969-1973, Billy recorded and toured with the legendary keyboardist and composer. Other important highlights for Billy was his work with McCoy Tyner, Stan Getz and the 1972 record

Eddie Henderson is a medical doctor who found himself in high demand by some of the legends of jazz. His mother was a dancer at the Cotton Club in New York and had the connection to introduce young Eddie to Louis Armstrong. Louis provided Eddie with his first trumpet lesson and was a great source of inspiration. While in medical school he continued to play trumpet whenever he could, which gained the attention of Herbie Hancock who hired Eddie in 1970. He recorded his first two albums with Herbie, Realization (1972) and Inside Out (1973). Eddie continued to record and perform with

Vail Johnson was the seventh son in his family, all of whom played a musical instrument. It was part of life, just like eating and sleeping. His great grandmother was an opera singer and Vail was always encouraged to sing and play. His professional career hit a milestone when Kenny G hired him to play bass at the Playboy Jazz Festival In 1986. As Kenny’s career exploded, Vail found himself on hit records and performing around the world to sold-out audiences. He performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which was a personal thrill for Vail. He proudly has been attending the

Darryl Jones was born on the south side of Chicago into a musical family. His father taught him drums and xylophone at 7 years old. But when Jones saw his neighbor, Angus Thomas, playing bass in the school talent show, the nine-year-old foresaw his destiny. At 21, with the help of his longtime friend Vincent Wilburn Jr. (the nephew of Miles Davis), Jones landed a life-changing gig with legendary jazz icon Miles Davis, with whom he would record and tour over the next five years. He can be heard on Decoy, You’re Under Arrest, and several live concert albums.

Hubert Laws Jr. is an American flutist and saxophonist with a rich family history in the music industry. Specializing in jazz and classical, Hubert started playing the flute in high school and eventually attend the Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship in 1960. With credits like playing in the New York metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and recording with Atlantic Records as a bandleader, it is clear to see why Hubert was honored in 2003 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association and a Lifetime Achievement Award from

Greg Phillinganes reminds one of a chameleon with his innate ability to perfectly blend into any musical situation or setting. While still a teenager, Greg had the opportunity to join Steve Wonder’s Wonderlove band. This opportunity would help shape Greg’s musicality, giving him exposure to and the chance to play virtually any genre of music. Greg went on to work with Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, and Herbie Hancock among many others serving both as an artist and as music director. In addition, Greg has written and arranged for TV, film, the Grammys, and Emmys along with performi

Marty Sheller was the award-winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is Marty taking the trumpet solo on “Watermelon Man”) beginning in 1961. Marty was also the house arranger for Fania Records where he worked with a long list of Latin-jazz artists. As a freelance arranger and trumpeter Marty worked with Dave Pike (“Just Say Goodbye”), Willie Colon ( “El Gran Varon”) as well as Woody Shaw (“We’ll Be Together Again”). In 2008 he released his first ever solo album under

Fabrice Vignati and his wife Tracy teamed up to create a new take on Rockabilly music, which they call Gypsybilly. Being a fan of Rockabilly since he was a kid, Fabrice brings the classic elements of the musical form together with the influences of artists such as jazz great Django Reinhardt. Django was a pioneer of gypsy jazz or jazz manouche, which originated in France when he performed with violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Together they improvised while relying on their percussive approach to be used instead of drums.

Freddie Washington is proud of the connections he has made in the music world as a bass player and that his passion for music has led to so many opportunities to make music with other passionate musicians!  His first professional gig was with Herbie Hancock when Freddie was 19 years old.  He later performed with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, BB King, and a host of other top rated musicians.  Freddie has enjoyed writing music, especially songs that can feature the bass.  He created several unique bass lines including the one included in Patrice Rushen’s hit record of “Forget Me N

Stephen Zelenka has had quite the career in the music industry. His love for music started early while he was growing up and playing gigs in London,  he eventually landed a job working for the band Gentle Giant. This job entailed a lot of tasks associated with touring, and Stephen earned the nickname of “Zoomie Zelenka”  at the tender age of sixteen  by running around with so much to do having been awarded the job title of guitar tech, projectionist and PA engineer all on the same gig! After touring with Gentle Giant, Stephen went on to work with TFA Electrosound in the UK and wen