Welcome to a collection of insightful and inspiring quotes by the legendary jazz musician and composer, Herbie Hancock. With a career spanning over six decades, Hancock has left an indelible mark on the world of music, pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers with his innovative approach. From his early days as a pianist in the Miles Davis Quintet to his groundbreaking solo work fusing jazz with funk and electronic music, Herbie Hancock’s contributions to the art form are immeasurable.
Throughout his career, Hancock has not only dazzled audiences with his virtuosity but has also shared profound wisdom garnered from his life experiences. His words resonate not only with fellow musicians but with anyone seeking inspiration, creativity, and a deeper understanding of the human spirit. As we delve into this collection of Herbie Hancock quotes, prepare to be uplifted, enlightened, and motivated to explore your own creative potential. Here, you’ll find a treasure trove of his thoughts and reflections, offering invaluable insights into music, life, and the pursuit of excellence. So, let’s embark on this journey of discovery, as Herbie Hancock’s words continue to inspire and resonate with us all.
I don’t see how we can have both the freedoms we had before and the safety net that we all need considering the way the world is today. And that’s just because human beings can’t trust each other. We’ve given in over and over to some of the darkest elements that exist in life itself. Herbie Hancock
You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist. Herbie Hancock
I try to practice with my life. 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. Herbie Hancock
Take whatever happens and try to make it work. Herbie Hancock
It is people’s hearts that move the age. 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 – about man’s inhumanity to man. I’m concerned about the environment. Herbie Hancock
I like the idea of an eclectic approach, incorporating jazz with other forms and other genres of music. Herbie Hancock
I’ve never really been interested in doing a solo piano tour. Herbie Hancock
One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing. Herbie Hancock
It’s part of life to have obstacles. It’s about overcoming obstacles; that’s the key to happiness. 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. 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. Herbie Hancock
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. 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. 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. Herbie Hancock
Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music. 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. Herbie Hancock
Sometimes you have to create a vision, a path for a vision. It may not be apparent, and you may have to forge it yourself. And that will be the way to move your life forward. Herbie Hancock
Music is the tool to express life – and all that makes a difference. Herbie Hancock
When I was six, my best friend’s parents bought him a piano. My mother noticed that every time I would go to his house, the first thing I would say to him was ‘Levester’ – His name was Levester – I said, ‘Levester, can I go play your piano?’ So, on my 7th birthday, my parents bought me a piano. 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. Herbie Hancock
I try stuff. I synthesize what’s of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal. 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. Herbie Hancock
It’s not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz. 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. Herbie Hancock
Nobody told me I was a child prodigy. Herbie Hancock
I’ve been a religious, spiritual person for a long time. Herbie Hancock
When I was in my early teens, I remember coming to the conclusion that your life never ends. Herbie Hancock
The thing that we possess, that machines don’t, is the ability to exhibit wisdom. Herbie Hancock
Jazz is about being in the moment. Herbie Hancock
My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels. Herbie Hancock
Music is not the only reason that I practice Buddhism anymore because it has affected my whole life. Herbie Hancock
Music happens to be an art form that transcends language. Herbie Hancock
At a certain point, I became a kind of musician that has tunnel vision about jazz. I only listened to jazz and classical music. Herbie Hancock
I’ve been curious ever since I was a little kid. Herbie Hancock
Miles’ sessions were not typical of anybody else’s sessions. They were totally unique. Herbie Hancock
Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music. 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. Herbie Hancock
It’s easy to get sidetracked with technology, and that is the danger, but ultimately you have to see what works with the music and what doesn’t. In a lot of cases, less is more. In most cases, less is more. Herbie Hancock
But, the truth is that everyone is somebody already. Herbie Hancock
I think risk-taking is a great adventure. And life should be full of adventures. Herbie Hancock
One thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the support for this larger vision of values. Herbie Hancock
The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way. Herbie Hancock
The music becomes something that is its own entity. Herbie Hancock
I think I was supposed to play jazz. Herbie Hancock
I’m not special, no more special than anybody else. 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. Herbie Hancock
Being a musician is what I do, but it’s not what I am. Herbie Hancock
The value of music is not dazzling yourself and others with technique. Herbie Hancock
Buddhism has turned me on to my humanness, and is challenging my humanness so that I can become more human. Herbie Hancock
I think there’s a great beauty to having problems. That’s one of the ways we learn. Herbie Hancock
You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life. 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. Herbie Hancock
Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different. Herbie Hancock
When I was coming up, I practiced all the time because I thought if I didn’t I couldn’t do my best. Herbie Hancock
I think people have learned that Herbie Hancock can be defined as someone that you won’t be able to figure out what he’s going to do next. The sky is the limit as far as I’m concerned. Herbie Hancock
It’s part of my nature. I get excited when trying out new stuff, whether it be an idea or equipment. It stimulates my juices. Herbie Hancock
Without wisdom, the future has no meaning, no valuable purpose. 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. Herbie Hancock
I’m always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things. Herbie Hancock
You can practice to learn a technique, but I’m more interested in conceiving of something in the moment. 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. 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.’ Herbie Hancock
You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can’t practice to attain wisdom. Herbie Hancock
Creativity shouldn’t be following radio; it should be the other way around. Herbie Hancock
While knowledge may provide useful point of reference, it cannot become a force to guide the future. Herbie Hancock
We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment. Herbie Hancock
But I have to be careful not to let the world dazzle me so much that I forget that I’m a husband and a father. Herbie Hancock
The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness. Herbie Hancock
I am not fundamentally a musician, I am fundamentally a human being. Herbie Hancock
I hope that I can make good music out of whatever genre I go into. Just to prove to myself that I can. Herbie Hancock
The Internet opens up a whole new range of possibilities in a wide range of areas. Herbie Hancock
I’m always looking to create new avenues or new visions of music. Herbie Hancock
One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle. Herbie Hancock
It’s not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project. Herbie Hancock
To my wife, I’m not Herbie Hancock the musician. I’m her husband. When I’m talking to a neighbor, I’m a neighbor. When I vote, I’m a citizen. 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. Herbie Hancock
Hip-hop is all over the planet. Herbie Hancock
In the past, there’s always been one leader that has led the pack to development of the music. Herbie Hancock
Music truly is the universal language. Herbie Hancock
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. Herbie Hancock
I started off with classical music, and I got into jazz when I was about 14 years old. And I’ve been playing jazz ever since. Herbie Hancock
Getting the Oscar had the biggest impression on me. 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. Herbie Hancock
It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself. 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. Herbie Hancock
I hope to use dialogue and culture as a means of bringing people of various cultures together, and using that as a way to resolve conflict. Herbie Hancock
I just express myself in any way I feel is appropriate at the moment. Herbie Hancock
Each human being exists because there’s something they have to offer for the evolution of the universe that only they can fulfill. 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. 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. Herbie Hancock
Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision. Herbie Hancock
I like to present something that the people haven’t seen or haven’t heard before. Otherwise they might as well just stay home and play the record. 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. Herbie Hancock
When you talk about ‘doing the work’, that’s the work I’m interested in. What can I contribute as a human being? Herbie Hancock
See, there were certain rules I’d always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules. Herbie Hancock
All you have to do is play one note. But it needs to be the right note. Herbie Hancock
It’s not easy to play in a framework that requires simplicity and to tastefully find ways to interject the kind of freedom that we have in playing jazz. 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. Herbie Hancock
