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
Lionel can play anything: totally out, blues, tear-jerking stuff, rock and African, ... Carlos didn't know him, but he trusted my judgment. When Lionel played, he blew everyone's minds -- the audience and Carlos' band. Their jaws were hanging.
I was very much aware of blues, because it was on the radio all the time.
I was trying to make something truly collaborative,
I was excited about the possibility of going to New York.
I think I heard the name Muddy Waters first, then John Lee Hooker.
When synthesizers came along, it was the first time I thought that the two things I loved, which were science and music, could be put together.
Wisdom is on a higher plane, and as human beings, it's part of our 'being-ness' to have the capacity to manifest wisdom through creativity.
We realize that there doesn't seem to be a lot of people looking into new ways of reexamining the conventions that we've grown to accept in the music.
Well, I'm hoping that the narrow categories of music are forced to develop activities that reflect a broader variety of music, so that people get exposed to more variety that they certainly are now.
The arts can help establish stronger relationships between countries and cultures, in a way that is difficult to achieve by our political ambassadors.
Here was this young beautiful black woman that just kind of opened Miles' eyes up.
From '70 to '73 I'd had a sextet, but the band was not self-supporting and I couldn't afford it, so I broke it up. And then I didn't know what kind of music I wanted to do, because I was just fed up to here with it. It wasn't fulfilling anymore.
I brought my 40 years of jazz experience to the table, ... but I wanted to make something more ambitious than a little box.
I am still a jazz musician and not a pop star in terms of money and so I have to take care of my family first, then my extended family and my country.