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's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness.
The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away from that, the solidity that you need in order to be able to stand up for what you believe in and deliver what's really inside, it's just not going to be there.
Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.
Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.
I'm not special, no more special than anybody else.
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.
Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.
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.
I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.
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.
We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment.
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.
It's not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.
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.
You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist.
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.
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 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.
You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.
One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing.
Take whatever happens and try to make it work.
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.'
You can practice to learn a technique, but I'm more interested in conceiving of something in the moment.
I am not fundamentally a musician, I am fundamentally a human being.
Jazz is about being in the moment.
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.
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.
Music truly is the universal language.
Miles' sessions were not typical of anybody else's sessions. They were totally unique.
I try to practice with my life.
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.
The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.
Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.
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 thing that we possess, that machines don't, is the ability to exhibit wisdom.
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.
All you have to do is play one note. But it needs to be the right note.
Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.
The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.
Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.
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.
I've been curious ever since I was a little kid.
It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself.
The music becomes something that is its own entity.
Being a musician is what I do, but it's not what I am.
You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.
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.
When I was in my early teens, I remember coming to the conclusion that your life never ends.
See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.
