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
Recently I've been listening to Mahler; it's beautiful stuff. I just saw a performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony on television, and it was awesome. The music was so gorgeous I wasn't just crying tears, I was sobbing.
Now we see that we have to pay attention to the environment. We have to protect it. It's become a real issue and a lot of people are still looking at it from a 20th century standpoint.
I just wish more attention could be placed on the human being.
I took a different view of what it was I had been doing before and started to come to some realizations about the way I looked at life.
But I cant name a specific synthesizer that is my favorite.
I've started something called the Rhythm of Life Foundation to encourage the technological community to develop ideas and software that directly effect the advancement of humanity.
So to answer your question more directly, I think it's very important, in order not to have a boring life, to continue to have a sense of exploration, and the courage to take risks, in order to utilize and expand your sense of creativity.
I wasn't concerned about jazz - that's just one of the tools.
A method that doesn't use what you know. It's just pure, raw emotion.
I don't go back to anything, I just add. Just like when you eat a meal, it you eat one thing all the time it gets kind of boring.
I'm not telling students not to practice or advising people to limit themselves.
But I'm not so focused on intensity from that kind of testosterone level that a lot of jazz is on.
A lot of times, other people turn me on to new people that are doing stuff, so I don't consider myself a spokesman for everything that's going on in jazz.
I'm happy if anything that I did takes the limelight.