Herbie Hancock's Quotes

Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.

One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing.

One thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the support for this larger vision of values.

See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.

Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different.

The music becomes something that is its own entity.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

The thing that we possess, that machines don't, is the ability to exhibit wisdom.

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

We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment.

When I was coming up, I practiced all the time because I thought if I didn't I couldn't do my best.

When I was in my early teens, I remember coming to the conclusion that your life never ends.

While knowledge may provide useful point of reference, it cannot become a force to guide the future.

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

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

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

You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.

I try to practice with my life.

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

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

Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.

It's not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.

Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.

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

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.