Herbie Hancock Quotes (173 Quotes)

Another thing that I noticed is a lot of people in the hip hop scene have a great respect for jazz and have incorporated by sampling some elements that come from jazz.

I had just come out of college, and I figured that I would probably be in Chicago for the next couple of years, and then maybe, I 'd get a chance to go to New York and hang out with the big boys.

But I'm not so focused on intensity from that kind of testosterone level that a lot of jazz is on.

And if I don't express that, then what's my life worth

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.

I try stuff. I synthesize what's of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal.

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

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.

Then I would watch him improvise, and I would be fascinated by what he was doing.

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.

It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.

A method that doesn't use what you know. It's just pure, raw emotion.

By contrast, wisdom captivates people's hearts and has the power to open a new age.

Buddhism has helped me toward gaining control over my own destiny, and given me the courage to follow directions I believe in.

Being a musician is what I do, but it's not what I am.

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

Not just in jazz, I think in politics too. Men have gotten to the point where we're not doing a good job anymore. It remains to be seen whether we really did a good job in the past.

People are afraid to spend money now because they don't know how long they're going to be working.

It was put together in layers. The disadvantage is that there isn't really any interaction together, so you have to manufacture that interaction to make it believable.

You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.

That's when I began to understand what a chord is. So I learned theory to find a shorter method to take things off a record.

I was trying to make something truly collaborative,

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.