Herbie Hancock

Listening to Herbie Hancock tell his story on the audiobook edition of "Possibilities" is a treat. His prose and his narration are both incredibly conversational, so it feels like having a cup of coffee with this jazz master, rather than laboring through a chronology of accomplishments.

Most rewarding for me was learning how remarkably stable he's been in a field that has taken down more than its fair share of talents. He certainly experimented with drugs, but got away from them quickly show more (though crack cocaine comes into his life in the 90's for a brief and transformative time). He's been married to his wife Gigi for decades. He is aware of his place in the jazz pantheon but maintains an admirable level of humility and seems genuinely gracious anytime he's acknowledged by his peers or fans.

A good deal of this book deals with Herbie's deep devotion to Nichiren Buddhism and his reliance on it as a spiritual path throughout his adult life. He and Wayne Shorter are both practicing Buddhists and their practice has anchored their journeys through the world of music and their personal lives. As a Buddhist myself (though from a different tradition), it was wonderful to hear how transformative Mr. Hancock's devotion has been for him.

Of course, then there's the music. "Watermelon Man", "Cantaloupe Island", "Rockit", his Grammy winning work on "River: The Joni Letters". His work with the legendary Miles Davis Quintet, The Headhunters, and Mwandishi, and all the stories of his friendships with jazz legends and other musical artists.

Finally, there's Herbie's rich curiosity, which led him to study technology and become an early adopter of a variety of techniques that changed his sound and put him on the forefront as a true musical innovator.

This is a book that any jazz fan will cherish. It's also a book that many Buddhists will appreciate. While a hard copy is always agreeable, this is one of the rare self-narrated books by a musician that holds up as you listen. Herbie's humor, heart, and ease with who he is comes through as he tells his story. show less

Terrific overview of Herbie Hancock's life and career that will have long-time fans checking their record shelves for the albums that he references along the way. He gives a lot of credit to Miles Davis for the trust and faith he put in his younger musicians such as Tony Williams and Hancock at the time of the Second Great Quintet. Donald Byrd is actually probably the wisest mentor he had though as he advised Hancock to keep his own publishing from the beginning which obviously paid off show more enormously with hits such as "Watermelon Man" and "Rockit."

This is a good-natured bio and although Hancock discusses a temporary drug addiction that he had 20 years ago, there is little of a "tell-all" feel to this. The few slight negative comments about other musicians are about one player who was constantly late to performances and about another young trumpet star whose insecurities may have led to braggadocio and putdowns of others. That's it!

Hancock attributes a lot of his success to Buddhism and chant which he discovered fairly early in his life and that belief is regularly mentioned in its relation to his music and career in a very positive sense

Not-so-ghost writer Lisa Dickey (who gets full cover credit) structures many of the chapter endings like a thriller, with cliff-hanger ending sentences that make you want to read the next chapter immediately. Very cleverly done! show less

If you're into audiobooks, definitely consider giving this a listen. Hancock's delivery is so conversational, it feels like you're hanging out together as he tells you all about his life. I appreciate how he calls himself out on some of the BS he's pulled, though the degree to which he claimed to be unassuming (like, nearly every situation) triggers a little side eye in me. Regardless, the man has had an incredible career, and I enjoyed getting his take on life. Certainly one of the better show more music memoirs out there. show less

Product Details

* Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
* Original Release Date: 2000
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Transparent Music
* ASIN: B00005NHUJ
* Average Customer Review: based on 25 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,287 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #37,386 in Music

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1. Kebero Listen Listen
2. Wisdom Listen Listen
3. The Essence show more (featuring Chaka Khan) Listen Listen
4. This is Rob Swift Listen Listen
5. Black Gravity Listen Listen
6. Tony Williams Listen Listen
7. Be Still Listen Listen
8. Ionosphere Listen Listen
9. Kebero (part 2)
10. Alphabeta Listen Listen
11. Virtual Hornets Listen Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For more than four decades, the Grammy award-winning jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock has given us a number of pop hits, including "Watermelon Man," "Chameleon," and "Rockit." On this CD, Hancock welcomes the 21st century by putting his distinctive stamp on drum & bass, hip-hop, and world-music beats. Joined by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassists Charnett Moffett and Bill Laswell, and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Hancock and crew deliver some intriguing licks on these popular rhythms. The two top compositions on this project are "The Essence," with R&B diva Chaka Khan, which borrows a bass lines from Miles Davis's "Ife," and "Tony Williams," a searing mainstream tribute to the legendary drummer. Throughout, Herbie Hancock puts a jazzy vibe into everything that he plays. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Product Description
From Transparent Music, Future 2 Future captures Herbie's take on the new progressive music from the DJ/Club culture - hip-hop, drum-and-bass, downtempo. The project reunites Hancock with famed musical architect Bill Laswell. Together, this team earned a Grammy for 'Rockit' and a platinum record from its parent album Future Shock.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Best Contemporary Herbie since 1983, December 6, 2001
Reviewer: Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
When deciding whether or not one should purchase a newly released Herbie Hancock CD one has to be very clear about which Herbie fan they are: a) the traditional jazz Hancock fan (best exemplified by a more than passing appreciation of albums like "Maiden Voyage" or "Speak Like A Child"), b) contemporary jazz Hancock fan (exemplified by more than a passing appreciation of albums like "Headhunters" and "Future Shock"), or c) a mixture of both. Hancock is a chameleon of styles, forms and histories, and if you're not careful you could pick up the Miles Davis-ian "Inventions and Dimensions" instead of the Kraftwerk-like "Perfect Machine". All that said, this is a record for the b-style fan, and is probably his best offering in this regard since the very good "Future Shock" in 1983.

We've been subjected to some questionable records in this field in the last 15 years from Hancock, most notably "Dis is da drum", but this record seeks less to re-establish Hancock as a fixture on MTV as it does to show new audiences that he's able to do anything, and do it with class and history ever-present. In his corner he has teamed up with the ever-playful-yet-intense Bill Laswell on production and has gone beyond the "Hey! I know some hot undergound acts!" meanderings of other (and sometimes his own) records and found his voice in the styles presented. Hancock plays around grooves, not just bashed out drum machine riffs, and uses artists not as salad dressing (as on "Drum"), but as fitting compliments to the songs offered. I have to admit I was scared when I saw DJ Rob Swift and dance producers Carl Craig and A Guy Called Gerald in the credits, but they work (when the songs are actually good - track 5, "Black Gravity" springs to mind - and when Hancock isn't buried too deep in his own tracks) and the record carried throughout it a sense of daring (with dashes of drum-n-bass, downtempo and hip-hop but all smoothly done and with nice, Marc Carey-like flourishes throughout...which were originally mastered by Hancock back in the 70s in the first place) while giving us some Hancock chops and riffs reminiscent of his Mwandishi period. Good stuff here, folks. Every track doesn't sing, but it's the best "ulterior" Herbie you've heard in a long time. Fusion resurfaces in fine form here enough to justify the purchase IF YOU'RE INTO THE FORM ALREADY. If you're not sure, try some per-1980 Lonnie Liston Smith or Marc Carey ("Rhodes Ahead" preferably) then come back for this.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Back to the future....again, May 9, 2002
Reviewer: Mark Diamond (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Something old, something new, something borrowed....oh never mind! Look this CD is better than most of your reviewers give it cedit for. It's wonderfully recorded, funky as hell and yes it really does sound NEW. Herbie has done this before (hence the name of this review) with Future Shock and other efforts but this one is very good indeed. The stand out track has to be "Tony Williams" with a sampled drum track from the master himself-wow! The vocals on the CD are ordinary with Chaka Khan sounding like she sent in her performance by email but really the sheer funkiness of it all carries you along. Want your body moved as well as your brain? Buy this CD because it has vastly more musical integrity and invention than 90% of what passes for funk/hip-hop/soul etc these days. show less