The 78-year-old keyboard legend brings a brief U.S. tour to Meijer Gardens on Wednesday as he eyes a new album. The Local Spins interview with Herbie Hancock.
Incorporating Cinematic Elements: Herbie Hancock
Some tickets are still available for Wednesday’s Herbie Hancok concert at Meijer Gardens, available online at meijergardens.org.
By the time most people reach the age of 78, they’re not looking to advance their chosen careers but are content to simply relax.
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Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock is not most people.
Robust Career: Herbie Hancock is into his sixth decade of pioneering music.
Of course, calling Herbie Hancock merely a jazz pianist is a ludicrous understatement.
In a career that’s now in its sixth decade, Hancock has been/is a film composer, musical innovator, bandleader, and, according to Snoop Dog, the inventor of hip hop.
He recorded three of the top-selling jazz recordings of all time in three different decades – the third almost 40 years after the first – and appears on another. His music has explored and embraced modal jazz, post-bop, electronic ambience, fusion, funk, classical, pop and the aforementioned hip hop.
And today, looking at his upcoming ninth decade on the planet, Hancock continues to compose, record, and perform, including his first appearance Wednesday (June 27) at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
“I’m still going strong. I’ve been to a lot of places (musically speaking). When people say it can’t be done, that’s what gets it done,” Hancock said in an interview with LocalSpins prior to setting out on this brief tour (which covers seven dates over a 10-day span).
UTILIZNG ELEMENTS THAT CONTAIN ‘VISUAL AND MUSICAL ASPECTS’
Among the expected offerings for the audience are some samples of his upcoming recording, which he’s been working on for three years. It will be his first recording since “The Imagine Project” in 2010. From his description it will be another in a long list of innovations.
“The first thing in my head is I know visuals are an important part of what’s happening with young people,” he said. “Part of incorporating that is the way I’m approaching this record: The cinematic element is the way I put it together, rather than standard song form.”
Pushing Boundaries: Hancock continues to do what he’s done his entire career.
Hancock said that approach stems in part from attending a show at the Hollywood Bowl by Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison). “These graphics are covering the stage and the side of the stage,” he said.
Another influence was the role he played in the recent Luc Besson science fiction film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” Hancock played the defense minister in the space opera.
“It’s intriguing to use some elements that contain visual and musical aspects. That’s an important part of the newness of the approach,” he said.
“I’m also borrowing what I’ve heard from rappers. What they talk about is from their own experience. That came from recent experience listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly.” I realized the barriers (to listening and appreciating) came from myself.”
Hancock has won a slew of awards. Among them are 14 Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year for “River: The Joni Letters,” Kennedy Center Honors, an Academy Award for his “Round Midnight”? film score and awards from MTV, Downbeat, VH1 and Soul Train, as well as Playboy and Keyboard magazines. He’s been awarded six honorary doctorates.
Through it all, Hancock has invested his gifts, energy and time into bridging the gaps between the masses and his music, exploring technology as he explores music.
THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON MUSIC
“It has impacted everything,” he said of technology. “Music is now made on my Mac. Even when you play an acoustic piano in the studio you’re recording on a hard drive, not on tape. Digital apps simulate a tape machine.”
Award-Winning Icon: Hancock
And everything that’s old is new again.
“Now vinyl is back,” he said with a laugh. “And a lot of young musicians are going back to analog synths.”
Hancock currently serves as Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and as Institute Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In 2011, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. His memoir, “Herbie Hancock: Possibilities,” has been published by Viking.
In addition to a taste of Hancock’s highly anticipated new album, fans will hear music from throughout his career. He’ll be accompanied by his most recent touring band, featuring Trevor Lawrence Jr. on drums, James Genus on bass and Lionel Loueke on guitar.
Keyboardist and saxophonist Terrace Martin won’t be on this tour as he is working on other musical endeavors. Hancock said that simply gives the rest of the band more room to stretch out.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $62; $60 for Meijer Gardens members. Get details and tickets online at MeijerGardens.org.
VIDEO: Herbie Hancock (Austin City Limits)
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC
