Jazz great shares music history

By THOMAS CASTLES
Staff Writer

Fifty years of performances, recordings and jam sessions later, Herbie Hancock remains the maverick of the music business he set out to be at the age of 14.

It was then that Hancock, already a child prodigy on the piano, witnessed his first jazz performance during a student variety show in his hometown of Chicago.

“I liked the beat. I liked the way it felt,” he said. “It was like a magnet, pulling me in.”

Even at that young age, the avant-garde musician was classically trained and boasted skills beyond his years. But the concept of improvisation was new to the talented youngster, who until then was only familiar with the musical world of strict instruction and rigid ledger lines.

“After the performance, I went backstage and talked to this guy. I asked him how he learned and who he listened to, and he said he listened to George Shearing. I went home and told my mom, ‘We gotta get some George Shearing records!’ ” he said.

One jazz performance and a few spins of Shearing’s records opened the door to a lifetime of musical forays for the pioneering pianist, whose willingness to take risks and dabble in different musical genres would become a large part of his appeal.

“I wanted the freedom to be able to change directions. People aren’t used to musicians doing that, but slowly, I became known for it.”

It wasn’t long before Hancock’s fluid style began to attract attention. He cut his teeth in the industry at the age of 23 when he joined Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet, one of the most influential jazz ensembles in history.

His time with Davis was productive, both in terms of the tremendous creative outpouring it yielded and the knowledge, experience, technique and inspiration that Hancock was able to glean from a jazz musician who is widely regarded as the world’s finest.

Hancock figured he would be taking a back seat to the wildly talented bandleader, but he quickly learned that Davis’ quintet was an egalitarian one.

“It was a phenomenal experience. Miles, by his musical behavior, taught me a lot,” he said. “Miles was the centerpiece because of his name and his talent and expertise, but he didn’t subjugate the rest of the band. He wasn’t a dictatorial kind of leader. The impact of his leadership was the freedom that the band had and the encouragement to develop in our own way.” By that token, Hancock was a perfect fit. His time with Davis cemented in his mind what he had been coming to realize since witnessing his first jazz performance: The constant change and personal freedom that allows music to adapt to a rapidly changing world should be embraced.

He has held that wisdom close throughout his illustrious career, which spans five decades and remains firmly rooted on the musical vanguard.

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