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Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock Quotes

Jazz Pianist

Herbie Hancock, born on April 12, 1940, is a renowned jazz pianist, composer, and music producer. Known for his unique musical style and cross-genre artistic exploration, he is one of the most important figures in modern jazz.

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Famous Herbie Hancock Quotes

“World peace is no longer some pie-in-the-sky thing, because no single person or country is going to solve it on their own.”

World Persons Country Sky Solve Pie Single Person

Author:Herbie Hancock

“You can practice to learn a technique, but I'm more interested in conceiving of something in the moment.”

Moments Music Practice Technique Conceiving

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Back in the day for me was a great time in my life - I was in my 20s. Most people refer to their experiences in their twenties as being a highlight in their life. It's a period of time where you often develop your own way, your own sound, your own identity, and that happened with me, when I was with a great teacher - Miles Davis.”

People Way Sound Teacher Happened Identity Periods Twenties Miles Great Times Great Teacher Highlights Back In The Day

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept. He and Bill Evans, and Ravel and Gil Evans, finally. You know, that's where it really came from. Almost all of the harmony that I play can be traced to one of those four people and whoever their influences were.”

People Knows Play Four Influence Majors Concepts Harmony Bills Fischer Ravel

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Globalization means we have to re-examine some of our ideas, and look at ideas from other countries, from other cultures, and open ourselves to them. And that's not comfortable for the average person.”

Looks Mean Persons Ideas Country Culture Comfortable Average Other Countries Globalization Average Person Other Cultures

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I don't go around, the way many musicians do, with earbuds in my ear listening to my iPod all day and just sticking my head in the music all the time.”

Way Listening Musician Ears Ipods

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I don't view myself as a musician anymore - I view myself as a human being that functions as a musician when I'm functioning as a musician, but that's not 24 hours a day. That's really opened me up to even more perspectives because now I look at music, not from the standpoint of being a musician, but from the standpoint of being a human being.”

Humans Looks Hours Human Beings Views Perspective Musician Function Standpoint

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.”

Knows Years Made Causes Differences Chance Decision Changed Projects Approach Musician Miles Territory

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I like to be on the edge, on the cutting edge, or be into the unknown, into the territory where I have to depend on being in the moment and depending on my instincts.”

Moments Cutting Depends Instinct Edges Territory Cutting Edge

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I'm one of the people who was a pioneer in encouraging musicians, early in the game, to get interested in technology, and now all the musicians are getting into it.”

People Games Technology Musician Pioneers

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I've always been interested in science. I used to take watches apart and clocks apart, and there's little screws, and a little this and that, and I found out if I dropped one of them, that thing ain't gonna work.”

Ifs Littles Used Found Watches Clock Screws

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I've been practising Buddhism for forty years, and that's what has led me to this path of discovering my own humanity and recognizing the humanity in others.”

Years Humanity My Own Path Buddhism Forty Discovering Recognizing

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I've had a life that has taken many interesting paths. I've learned a lot from mentors who were instrumental in shaping me, and I want to share what I've learned.”

Want Interesting Path Taken Share I've Learned Mentor

Author:Herbie Hancock

“In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered.”

World War Behinds Cold Needed Jazz War Of The Worlds Iron World War Ii Cold War Curtains Iron Curtain

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Most people define themselves by what they do - 'I'm a musician.' Then one day it occurred to me that I'm only a musician when I'm playing music - or writing music, or talking about music. I don't do that 24 hours a day. I'm also a father, a son, a husband, a citizen - I mean, when I go to vote, I'm not thinking of myself as 'a musician.'”

People Thinking Writing Mean Father Hours Talking Son Citizens One Day Husband Musician Vote Playing Music Writing Music

Author:Herbie Hancock

“My father was really good with math. It's a funny thing, I don't remember my father or my mother being so mechanical-minded. My father always wanted to be a doctor, but he came from a really poor family in Georgia, and there was no way he was going to be a doctor.”

Way Wanted Remember Mother Father Poor Doctors Math Funny Things Georgia Poor Family

Author:Herbie Hancock

“My first Grammy wasn't even in a jazz category, but of course I was really excited. 'Rockit' was the beginning of kind of a new era for the whole hip-hop movement.”

Firsts Kind Whole Courses Movement Jazz Hip Hop Excited Hips Eras Hops Categories New Era Grammy

Author:Herbie Hancock

“One of the greatest experiences I ever had was listening to a conversation with Joni Mitchell and Wayne Shorter. Just to hear them talking, my mouth was open. They understand each other perfectly, and they make these leaps and jumps because they don't have to explain anything.”

Talking Listening Conversation Mouths Leap Wayne

Author:Herbie Hancock

“One thing that sticks in my mind is that jazz means freedom and openness. It's a music that, although it developed out of the African American experience, speaks more about the human experience than the experience of a particular people.”

People Mind Humans Mean Speak One Thing Particular Sticks Jazz African American Openness Human Experience

Author:Herbie Hancock

“So much of what I create has been due to the influence of Miles Davis and Donald Byrd, and so many of those that have passed on. Their music, their legacy lives on with the rest of us because we are so highly influenced by their experience and what they have given us.”

Has Beens Given Influence Dues Miles Legacy

Author:Herbie Hancock

“The cool thing is that jazz is really a wonderful example of the great characteristics of Buddhism and great characteristics of the human spirit. Because in jazz we share, we listen to each other, we respect each other, we are creating in the moment. At our best, we're non-judgmental.”

Inspirational Humans Moments Spirit Wonderful Share Example Buddhism Creating Jazz Characteristics Human Spirit Judgmental Cool Things Respect Each Other Non Judgmental

Author:Herbie Hancock

“We need to put into practice the idea of embracing other cultures. We need to be shaping the kind of world we want to live in instead of waiting for someone else or some other entities to do it for us.”

World Want Needs Kind Ideas Culture Waiting Practice Entity Other Cultures

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Oscar Peterson is the greatest living influence on jazz pianists today.”

Today Influence Jazz Oscars Pianist

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I'm very conscious of the idea of trying to each time present something that I haven't presented before. It's a challenge to me to find something new, to find something innovative, but it's also very exciting.”

Trying Ideas Challenges Havens Conscious Exciting Something New Innovative

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I have to care and I have to be honest and have the courage to be vulnerable. If that happens, then that's the best I can do. To just be a puppet for the audience is not very courageous. Just to do whatever they say they want - because a lot of times people will hear something new that they hadn't heard before and get turned on by a new experience and will want to hear more of that.”

People Ifs Want I Can Happens Care Can Do Audience Heard Honest Vulnerable Being Honest Something New Courageous Puppets New Experiences

Author:Herbie Hancock

“People always want to protect what's really going on inside. They want to kind of make visible something that looks more pleasant than what may be happening inside of themselves.”

People Want Looks Kind May Protect Happenings Pleasant Visible

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Being vulnerable is allowing yourself to trust. That's hard for a lot of people to do. They feel a lot more secure if they kind of put walls around themselves. Then they don't have to trust anybody but themselves. But to allow you to trust not only yourself but trust others means - is what's required to be vulnerable, and to have that kind of trust takes courage.”

People Ifs Feels Kind Mean Hard Wall Secure Vulnerable Allowing Trust Others

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I keep recycling and repackaging music that I've done in the past, as though I can't write anymore. Like, okay, I'm done with that. But I need to kind of prod myself again into come on, Herbie, get off your duff and start writing some new music.”

Needs Writing Kind I Can Done Past Okay Recycling New Music

Author:Herbie Hancock

“As a human being, I'm concerned about the world that I live in.So, I'm concerned about peace.I'm concerned about man's inhumanity to man. I'm concerned about the environment.”

Men World Humans Human Beings Environment Concerned Inhumanity Inhumanity To Man

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I learned the importance of being nonjudgmental, taking what happens and trying to make it work.That's something you should apply to life.”

Should Trying Happens Importance

Author:Herbie Hancock

“If you're not judging what happens, then you're trusting what others are doing, what you're playing, and trusting what you're playing.And it can lead you to other ideas, to something maybe you hadn't expressed before.”

Ifs Ideas Happens Judging Not Judging

Author:Herbie Hancock

“You can change your character and, at the same time, change your fortune.”

Character Fortune

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Of course, it's not the technique that makes the music; it's the sensitivity of the musician and his ability to be able to fuse his life with the rhythm of the times. This is the essence of music.”

Able Courses Ability Musician Essence Technique Rhythm Sensitivity Fuse

Author:Herbie Hancock

“We need to move into a culture of peace. What I hope to promote is the idea that we all need each other and that the greatest happiness in life is not how much we have but how much we give. That's a wealth that's priceless. You can't buy compassion.”

Needs Giving Ideas Moving Life Is Culture Peace Wealth Compassion Priceless Life Happiness

Author:Herbie Hancock

“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.”

Humans Looks Human Beings Musician Standpoint

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Like no matter what happens, this would be the ultimate, they can make something positive happen.”

Matter Happens Would Be Ultimate No Matter What

Author:Herbie Hancock

“One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.”

Thinking Jazz Attributes

Author:Herbie Hancock

“People are afraid to spend money now because they dont know how long theyre going to be working.”

People Knows Long Know How

Author:Herbie Hancock

“So in other words, we were constantly challenged to grow, and thats what a master does.”

Doe Grows Masters

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Technology has developed to a whole other level and theres the scientist part of me that loves that stuff.”

Whole Stuff Levels Technology Scientist

Author:Herbie Hancock

“The first thing I ever heard about synthesizers, they were being used in rock.”

Firsts Used Heard Rocks Synthesizers

Author:Herbie Hancock

“There are a lot of records coming out, in every field of music, not just jazz.”

Records Fields Jazz Coming Out

Author:Herbie Hancock

“When I was young I used to listen to everything.”

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Wisdom corresponds to the future; it is philosophy.”

Author:Herbie Hancock

“When you struggle to reach for something you don't know, that's where most of the interesting stuff is.”

Knows Stuff Interesting Struggle Interesting Stuff

Author:Herbie Hancock

“I spent five years, at least, working with Miles. Together, we recorded ESP, Nefertiti, Sorcerer -- and I can tell you; each of these albums instantly became jazz classics. Hey, we had Wayne Shorter playing tenor sax, Ron [Carter] on bass, Tony Williams played drums. That was great band we had.”

Years I Can Together Five Band Jazz Albums Miles Hey Five Years Bass Carter Wayne Tenors Esp Nefertiti

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Fact is that I played piano and performed, as a young kid, a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra . Don't forget I was only eleven-years-old and to be on the stage at that age had tremendous impact on me. Basically love for classical music and performing as a kid on the big stage probably led toward this decision, which meant that music is going to be my big love but also my profession.”

Years Facts Bigs Kids Age Young Decision Forget Stage Music Is Impact Profession Piano Performing Chicago Orchestra Symphony Classical Music Eleven Symphony Orchestras

Author:Herbie Hancock

“The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away from that, the solidity that you need in order to be able to stand up for what you believe in and deliver what's really inside, it's just not going to be there.”

Needs Believe Humans Heart Able Order Human Beings Integrity Strongest Solidity Stand Up For What You Believe In

Author:Herbie Hancock

“You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist.”

Different Color Combining Different Colors

Author:Herbie Hancock

“Music truly is the universal language.”

Language Universal Universal Language

Author:Herbie Hancock

About the Author

Born: April 12, 1940
Known for: Jazz Pianist
Quotes: 135

Related Topics

Jazz Music Humans People Musician Way Human Beings Kind Music Is Ideas

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Herbie Hancock: PossibilitiesRelated source material

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