Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancockis an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor. Starting his career with Donald Byrd, he shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet where Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk music. Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieved success...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPianist
Date of Birth12 April 1940
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
When I did Future 2 Future, it occurred to me, that I hadn't really done anything in electric music in a while.
When I discovered Buddhism, I realized that Buddhism agrees with that. Buddhism adds something, too, which is that your life also never begins. It's eternal.
When I do concerts, because I've been in the business for a long time and certain pieces of music have become associated with me, I do some pieces from the past.
When I'm sensitive to the circumstances surrounding me, then I can be inspired by them or use them in whatever I may be creating.
What establishes value is something that is going to move humanity forward. If humanity is not in the equation, it's like the planet without any human beings on it.
The one thing that we should stick to is to figure out how to become better human beings, but in order to do that we have to go to the second level which is to work on defining the palette of what a better human being is made of, and creativity is one of them.
What's music supposed to be about anyway? Is it a means for a musician to masturbate, or is it for people to listen to?
What I always wonder is, why is it that whenever I make a record they think that whatever that thing is on that record, that's the only thing I do?
There are some other things I'm looking for in the future. I'm getting ready to put together something, to open up a new avenue for myself, having to do with a symphony orchestra.
We decided it would be interesting to approach the music as a group solo.
When I was a kid, I used to sit up in bed, put my elbows on the windowsill and look out at the stars and wonder. About space, eternity, the concept of God and creation.
When I was a kid, I won a contest and played a Mozart concerto with the Chicago Symphony, and I've written some movie scores, and I've been listening to orchestral music for years.
It's easy to get sidetracked with technology, and that is the danger, but ultimately you have to see what works with the music and what doesn't. In a lot of cases, less is more. In most cases, less is more.
It's not easy to play in a framework that requires simplicity and to tastefully find ways to interject the kind of freedom that we have in playing jazz.