# Herbie Hancock on cultural exchange, new horizons, and “the Survival of Planet Earth”: Photos, Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2019/08/02/herbie-hancock-on-cultural-exchange-new-horizons-and-the-survival-of-planet-earth-photos-video/
- Published: 2019-08-02T00:04:50+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Whatever else you call Herbie Hancock — jazz-piano paragon, funk-fusion pioneer,
Afro-Futurist, humanitarian, sage — you’d have to agree on “moving target.”**

Forward motion is the hallmark of his multifaceted career, which has yielded all
manner of accolades, including a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 2016.

That same year, Hancock checked in with The Checkout, speaking from his home in 
Los Angeles. The conversation covered a lot of ground, including his most enduring
lesson from Miles Davis; his artistic engagement with NASA’s space program; and 
his dedication to “bringing the cultures of the world together.” Those insights 
and more are featured in this edition of The Checkout, along with music from a 2016
concert at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! (previously featured in an episode of Jazz Night
in America).

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Herbie Hancock performing at the Prospect Park Bandshell in 2016.

Speaking with Simon Rentner, Hancock also touched on the dimensions of his current
musical project. “I’m working with a lot of young people,” he said. “Many of them
are friends of Flying Lotus and Terrace Martin, like Thundercat, and also Robert
Glasper.”

A long-awaited album featuring these artists, pillars of the new L.A. scene, has
yet to materialize. But Hancock has been on a co-headlining tour with saxophonist
Kamasi Washington, and he features Martin in his own band. He performs at the [Beacon Theater ](http://www.beacontheatre.com/)
in New York City on Aug. 1, and at the [Newport Jazz Festival](http://www.newportjazz.org/)
on Aug. 2, 3 and 4.

Hancock’s whole enterprise, as he sees it, is to help foster a global consciousness.
By working together, he suggests, it’s possible to create music “that reaches out
to really solving some of the global climate problems that can only be solved if
humanity is together as one unit, fighting for the survival of Planet Earth.”

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wbgo.org/sites/wbgo/files/styles/medium/public/201908/
herbiehancock-hero-621417530.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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