Herbie Hancock Quotes

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

Music isn't about music, it's about life.

Music truly is the universal language.

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

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

Each human being exists because there's something they have to offer for the evolution of the universe that only they can fulfill.

Jazz to me is the spirit of freedom. I mean real freedom. Freedom to explore. Freedom to express. Freedom to pour out your guts.

I try to practice with my life.

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.

I feel a lot more secure about the directions I take, than I might have, had I not practiced Buddhism.

Miles' sessions were not typical of anybody else's sessions. They were totally unique.

But, the truth is that everyone is somebody already.

The true artform is being a human being.

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.

Without wisdom, the future has no meaning, no valuable purpose.

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

It is people's hearts that move the age.

Getting the Oscar had the biggest impression on me.

Inspiration is constantly in the air. It's up to us to develop the sensitivity to pick up on it.

The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.

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

Jazz translates the moment into a sense of inspiration for not only the musicians but for the listeners.

You can expand, repeat, even change keys and do other things electronically to give certain elements and phrases more cohesiveness.

Wisdom is the key to understanding the age, creating the time.

Jazz has been the voice of freedom for so many countries over the past half century.

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.

The value of music is not dazzling yourself and others with technique.

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.

So I didn't actually change my name the way some people did.

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.

At a certain point, I became a kind of musician that has tunnel vision about jazz. I only listened to jazz and classical music.

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.

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

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

I'm aware that a lot of what is happening in jazz has not had a very dynamic change in a long time.

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.

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

I think risk-taking is a great adventure. And life should be full of adventures.

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.

I've been a religious, spiritual person for a long time.

I am not fundamentally a musician, I am fundamentally a human being.

Music is not the only reason that I practice Buddhism anymore because it has affected my whole life.

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

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

When I was young I used to listen to everything.

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.

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

The Internet opens up a whole new range of possibilities in a wide range of areas.

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

I've never really been interested in doing a solo piano tour.