Renowned jazz musician Herbie Hancock will be the new benefactor for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA.
Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA: A New Era for Jazz Education
In a significant move for the world of jazz, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA has been renamed the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA, effective from January 1, 2019. This change was requested by the Monk family and aligns with the institute's renaming by the Monk family's initiative in 2019 [1].
Herbie Hancock, a 14-time Grammy Award winner, is an internationally renowned pianist, composer, and one of the most influential voices on the piano in the history of jazz. Hancock's work has influenced decades of music, from his groundbreaking recordings in the '70s that combined electric jazz with funk and rock, to his 1983 hit song "Rockit" which established him as an innovator in electronic music.
As a UCLA professor since 2013, Hancock has been nurturing and launching the careers of emerging jazz artists through the program. The program allows graduate students to develop their own artistic voices under the guidance of renowned jazz musicians, composers, and educators.
The students at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA work across genres with fellow musicians throughout the school. They share what they learn, including through private music lessons for Los Angeles schoolchildren, as part of a formal outreach initiative. The students perform together around the world, showcasing their talents and the institute's commitment to fostering the next generation of jazz artists.
The institute, located at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, provides full two-year scholarships for six to eight international musicians to participate in a master's degree program. This opportunity allows these musicians to learn from and collaborate with some of the best minds in jazz education.
Judith Smith, dean of the UCLA School of Music, looks forward to working with Herbie Hancock to expand opportunities for students and further establish the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA as a leader in jazz education. With Hancock's history of nurturing and launching the careers of emerging jazz artists, the future of jazz at UCLA is bright.
[1] The exact date when the change took effect at UCLA specifically aligns with the 2019 renaming by the Monk family’s initiative. (Source: Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz)
