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Real jazz comes to town
by Tarek Atia
April 5, 2001
Herbie Hancock is a jazz legend who began playing the piano at 7, performed Mozart with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at 12 and played with the Miles Davis Quintet for five years in the 60s. He has also starred in the movie Round Midnight (for which he won an Oscar for best soundtrack), had several number one hits, been a TV presenter, and in general, has dedicated his life to pursuing every avenue the jazz world has to offer. In the following interview with cairolive.com, Herbie tells us all about the fruits of knowledge his experiments with the jazz life have provided him with
At one point in the 70s you adopted a Swahili name, Mwandishi. Why did you do that?
The early 70s were a period following the different kinds of social revolutions that were happening, and particularly in the United States, on various issues, civil rights being one of them, which included more of a recognition by the African American community of our heritage from Africa, that part of our heritage, and adoption of Swahili names became one example of recognizing the African part of our heritage. Actually, African Americans I think are completely now all mixed. I don't think there are any pure Africans of the African Americans, but the African part of our history was pretty much taken away from us during slavery, so the 60s gave us a chance, because of the civil rights movement, to kind of re-examine and make some sort of formal connection to our African-ness. So I didn't actually change my name the way some people did. As a matter of fact some people recognize that the names we were born with, family names that we had were often called slave names, during the sixties, because obviously those weren't the families that we originally came from, so that was kind of my way – actually the whole band's way – of making that connection, that we're part of this civil rights movement.
Any particular affinity to Egypt?
Well, it's on the continent of Africa, and although most of the African Americans came from the West coast of Africa, there's a rich history of civilization – of the various aspects of civilization, including science, and scientific discoveries and development that either began here or were centered around here in Egypt. But a lot of it was lost, or stolen, or claimed, by the Greeks, for example, and I'm aware of that. But I do personally feel a connection in that sense that my ancestors came from this continent.
Do you find a connection to the music as well?
There's a technical term called melosmatic singing, it means ornamentation on the notes, and we find that a lot of times in music from Gospel churches for example, and it carried over into the blues, and jazz, and I hear a lot of melosmatic, ornamented singing, in Middle Eastern music, so I have that kind of connection. There is a sense of improvisation too.
As someone who's experimented with all kinds of styles and genres, you're the perfect person to ask whether you think it's better for a person to stick to one thing all their lives and perfect it, or move around, because a lot of people have criticized you for that at various times…
(With a chuckle)The one thing that we should stick to is to figure out how to become better human beings, but in order to do that we have to go to the second level which is to work on defining the palette of what a better human being is made of, and creativity is one of them. So to answer your question more directly, I think it's very important, in order not to have a boring life, to continue to have a sense of exploration, and the courage to take risks, in order to utilize and expand your sense of creativity… I consider that to be a God-like quality that humanity possesses.
How do you feel about Rockit, the unofficial anthem of the break-dance craze, being most young people's main connection to Herbie Hancock, a man with a long history of jazz successes?
I'm happy if anything that I did takes the limelight. How can I complain? If people are pleased that there is a popular acceptance of anything that came from me, I'm thrilled, you know, and flattered. Let me say one thing: I would feel perhaps differently, if I created some of those different avenues for ulterior motives, if I didn't feel that I could really stand behind some of the directions that I took. If I did it, for example, just for the money as they say, or did it without a sense of integrity, then that would be a very different story. Then I might be embarrassed that people recognize that particular piece -- but then again that doesn't make any sense, why would I be embarrassed if I made the choice to do that… If I don't have any integrity then why would I be embarrassed. But for me, the kind of person that I am, I would not… but first of all, I think there's always another way to look at things so that you can, by using your creative juices, you can find a creative way of utilizing things that have associated with more commercial aspects, you know I try to find a creative way of using some of those elements.
Have you gone back to your roots in classical jazz?
My next record has electrical instruments and acoustic. I don't go back to anything, I just add. Just like when you eat a meal, it you eat one thing all the time it gets kind of boring. If you learn to cook too, you learn to cook a few other things, then you get to experience a variety of tastes, and that in itself can be a stepping stone to building even more variety using combinations of the elements that you created on top of some of the original elements.
Do you have a favorite sound as an instrument?
First of all I should explain that synthesizers themselves, I don't consider them instruments, they are instrument makers, because you can program them to be whatever sound you want. It's a tool for the creation of instrumental sounds. Now if you just take a general category of electrical instruments, touch wise I like to play electric instruments that have the kind of weight and resistance that the acoustic piano has because I've been playing the acoustic piano since I was seven years old, and I'm used to having that kind of resistance…. Also, I haven't heard an synthesizer yet that I can truly say has the resolution and is capable of the nuances of the acoustic piano, so I don't even try and compare those anymore. Perhaps in the future something will be developed. But I cant name a specific synthesizer that is my favorite. There are some that I may lean towards more than others, just as far as a playing an instrument is concerned. There's an instrument they don't even make anymore. It's an MK 80 by Roland. It has basically a thunder roads sound, but there's also a clarinet sound built into it. It has a lot of limitations, but the keys are wooden, and it feels the most like an acoustic piano, that's why I like using that as a trigger instrument, but I may have that connected to any number of synthesizers.
What's your take on the split between jazz traditionalists like Wynton Marsalis, and more avant garde types like John Zorn, etc., where do you put yourself, and where do you see the future of jazz?
The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness. When I sense a more conservative and limiting attitude coming from musicians, than my impression is that they're really moving away from the true spirit of jazz. Jazz is a music that is open enough to borrow from any other form of music, and has the strength to influence any other form of music. That's the nature of jazz. That to me is the purity of jazz. When you try to define a purity as being something that's closed and limited, you're not talking about the music that I play called jazz. I don't know what you're talking about, but it certainly isn't jazz. It sounds closer perhaps to what has become European classical music… not even the original European classical music, because that was improvised, you know improvisation used to be part of that culture, but over the past couple of hundred years it dwindled down to nothing, you know. And cadenzas now, for example, are written into concertos, before they used to improvised. But this is why I explained it as classical music as its practiced now, which is a much more conservative and limiting art form. But jazz is quite the opposite of that.
Is that because it's a bit risky commercially to improvise?
Not necessarily. I think for some musicians, their attempts to glorify the history of jazz have kind of put themselves in a position to have tunnel vision about the greatness of the history of jazz, and have left out the great expectations about the bright future of jazz. Jazz is a music that translates the moment into a sense of inspiration for not only the musicians but for the listeners. Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different. I agree with taking the time and respecting the great innovators of the past, but the word innovation would cease to exist if we all do is look at the past.
Are you promoting your new album with these series of concerts?
No this is not a project to promote my new album. This is the Thelonious Monk Institute which is promoting jazz, and the elevation not only of the music but its perception all over the world.
("Does this bother you?" asks the photographer)
Does it look like it's bothering me?
The thing is, this is the first time I see you smile for the picture…
(Laughs hysterically) Oh yeah, the funny thing is that all my pictures in the past were all smiley pictures, and it's only been in recent pictures where I've had some where I don't smile.
I wanted to ask you other questions about playing with Miles, etc.
(laughs) Ah, that would take hours…
Herbie Hancock is performing tonight (April 5, 2001) at 8pm at the American University in Cairo's Ewart Hall, and tomorrow night (April 6, 2001)at the Alexandria Conference Center.
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