Editing Herbie Hancock (section)

=== Miles Davis Quintet (1963–1968) and Blue Note Records (1962–1969) ===
Hancock received considerable attention when, in May 1963,<ref name="grove" /> he joined Davis's [[Miles Davis Quintet#Second Great Quintet (1964–68)|Second Great Quintet]]. Davis personally sought out Hancock, whom he saw as one of the most promising talents in jazz. The [[rhythm section]] that Davis organized was young but effective, comprising bassist [[Ron Carter]], 17-year-old drummer Williams, and Hancock on piano. After [[George Coleman]] and [[Sam Rivers (jazz musician)|Sam Rivers]] each took a turn at the saxophone spot, the quintet gelled with [[Wayne Shorter]] on tenor saxophone. This quintet is often regarded as one of the finest jazz ensembles yet.<ref>[[John Fordham (jazz critic)|Fordham, John]] (October 13, 2010), [https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/13/miles-davis-second-great-quintet "50 great moments in jazz: How Miles Davis's second quintet changed jazz"], ''The Guardian''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116192054/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/13/miles-davis-second-great-quintet |date=November 16, 2020 }}.</ref>

While in Davis's band, Hancock also found time to record dozens of sessions for the Blue Note label, both under his own name and as a [[sideman]] with other musicians such as [[Wayne Shorter]], Williams, [[Grant Green]], [[Bobby Hutcherson]], Rivers, Byrd, [[Kenny Dorham]], [[Hank Mobley]], [[Lee Morgan]], [[Freddie Hubbard]], and [[Eric Dolphy]]. Hancock also recorded several lesser known but still critically acclaimed albums with larger ensembles – ''[[My Point of View]]'' (1963), ''[[Speak Like a Child (album)|Speak Like a Child]]'' (1968) and ''[[The Prisoner (album)|The Prisoner]]'' (1969), albums that featured [[flugelhorn]], [[alto flute]] and [[bass trombone]] in addition to the traditional jazz instrumentation. 1963's ''[[Inventions and Dimensions]]'' was an album of almost entirely improvised music, teaming Hancock with bassist [[Paul Chambers]] and two Latin percussionists, [[Willie Bobo]] and Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez.

During that period, Hancock also composed the [[Film scores|score]] to [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s film ''[[Blowup]]'' (1966), the first of many film [[soundtrack]]s he recorded in his career. As well as feature film soundtracks, Hancock recorded a number of musical themes used on American television commercials for such well-known products as [[Pillsbury Company|Pillsbury]]'s [[Space Food Sticks]], [[Standard Oil]], [[Tab (soft drink)|Tab]] diet cola, and [[Virginia Slims]] cigarettes. Hancock also wrote, arranged and conducted a spy type theme for a series of [[F. William Free]] commercials for Silva Thins cigarettes. Hancock liked it so much he wished to record it as a song but the ad agency would not let him. He rewrote the harmony, tempo and tone and recorded the piece as the track "He Who Lives in Fear" from his ''The Prisoner'' album of 1969.<ref>Hancock, Herbie & Dickey, Lisa  ''Herbie Hancock: Possibilities'' Penguin, October 23, 2014</ref>

Davis had begun incorporating elements of rock and popular music into his recordings by the end of Hancock's tenure with the band. Despite some initial reluctance, Hancock began doubling on electric [[Keyboard instruments|keyboards]], including the [[Fender Rhodes]] [[electric piano]] at Davis's insistence. Hancock adapted quickly to the new instruments, which proved to be important in his future artistic endeavors. 

In the summer of 1968, after being dismissed from Davis' band under the pretext that he had returned late from a honeymoon in [[Brazil]], Hancock formed his own sextet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Byrnes |first=Sholto |date=October 23, 2011 |title=Herbie Hancock: Too good to be true |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/herbie-hancock-too-good-to-be-true-422113.html |website=The Independent}}</ref> Despite his departure from the band—which was disbanded soon after—Hancock continued to appear on Davis’ records for the next few years. His appearances included ''[[In a Silent Way]]'', ''[[A Tribute to Jack Johnson]],'' and ''[[On the Corner]]''.