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
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.
Take whatever happens and try to make it work.
You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.
Without wisdom, the future has no meaning, no valuable purpose.
When I was coming up, I practiced all the time because I thought if I didn't I couldn't do my best.
The value of music is not dazzling yourself and others with technique.
The music becomes something that is its own entity.
One thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the support for this larger vision of values.
Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.
Jazz is about being in the moment.
It's not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.
In the past, there's always been one leader that has led the pack to development of the music.
I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.
I think there's a great beauty to having problems. That's one of the ways we learn.
Getting the Oscar had the biggest impression on me.
But, the truth is that everyone is somebody already.
Music is not the only reason that I practice Buddhism anymore because it has affected my whole life.
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.
I'm not special, no more special than anybody else.
You can practice to learn a technique, but I'm more interested in conceiving of something in the moment.
While knowledge may provide useful point of reference, it cannot become a force to guide the future.
We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment.
The thing that we possess, that machines don't, is the ability to exhibit wisdom.
Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different.
One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing.
Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.
Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.
It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself.
I've been a religious, spiritual person for a long time.
I try to practice with my life.
I think I was supposed to play jazz.
Creativity shouldn't be following radio; it should be the other way around.
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.
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.
It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness.
I hope that I can make good music out of whatever genre I go into. Just to prove to myself that I can.
You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.
When I was in my early teens, I remember coming to the conclusion that your life never ends.
The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.
The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.
See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.
Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.
Miles' sessions were not typical of anybody else's sessions. They were totally unique.
It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.
It is people's hearts that move the age.
I'm always looking to create new avenues or new visions of music.
I try stuff. I synthesize what's of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal.
I feel a lot more secure about the directions I take, than I might have, had I not practiced Buddhism.
Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.
