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
Sometimes it was good and sometimes it wasn't, but I had to stand up for all of it or else I couldn't play any of it. I learned how to be courageous from that experience.
Buddhism opened me up to seeing things from the standpoint of being a human being - looking at the purpose of action and the effects on life.
When the suggestion was made that I might consider doing music of Joni Mitchell, I thought it was a fantastic idea. Joni, I admire not only for her music but for her person, because she's a person that really stands out for what she believes in.
I don't look at music from the standpoint of being a musician; I look at it from the standpoint of being a human being.
We were listening to a lot of different people, but we were listening to a lot of real innovators, and we were full of ideas.
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.
I started playing piano when I was 7. And I started with classical lessons. Then I really got exposed to jazz.
Things that happen to you are events. It's what you do with them that determine whether they're going to be problems or solutions.
Things like creating in the moment, being in the moment, trusting your instincts, not being afraid to go outside the comfort zone.
And you allow yourself to play off that plane. You're in this dark room of unknowns, you allow yourself to go there.
Another convention is that the drummer and bass player are timekeepers, but there's no reason they have to be bound to that.
Even during the major avant-garde period of jazz in the late '60s and early '70s, the songs usually had melodies, some harmonic starting-off point, or something to unify a particular piece in the beginning.
First of all I should explain that synthesizers themselves, I don't consider them instruments, they are instrument makers, because you can program them to be whatever sound you want.
The result is a music that allows us to all go outside the pigeonholes the music business forces us to stay in. We're breaking down expectations, walking the tightrope, while not scaring our fan bases away.