Globalization means we have to re-examine some of our ideas, and look at ideas from other countries, from other cultures, and open ourselves to them. And that's not comfortable for the average person.

It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness.

Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.

The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away from that, the solidity that you need in order to be able to stand up for what you believe in and deliver what's really inside, it's just not going to be there.

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.

My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.

I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.

We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

Jazz is about being in the moment.

I'm not special, no more special than anybody else.

Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.

In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered.

I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.

Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.

We need to move into a culture of peace. What I hope to promote is the idea that we all need each other and that the greatest happiness in life is not how much we have but how much we give. That's a wealth that's priceless. You can't buy compassion.

I think risk-taking is a great adventure. And life should be full of adventures.

One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle.

It's not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.

I've always been interested in science. I used to take watches apart and clocks apart, and there's little screws, and a little this and that, and I found out if I dropped one of them, that thing ain't gonna work.

I think people have learned that Herbie Hancock can be defined as someone that you won't be able to figure out what he's going to do next. The sky is the limit as far as I'm concerned.

I like to present something that the people haven't seen or haven't heard before. Otherwise they might as well just stay home and play the record.

World peace is no longer some pie-in-the-sky thing, because no single person or country is going to solve it on their own.

You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist.

I hope to use dialogue and culture as a means of bringing people of various cultures together, and using that as a way to resolve conflict.

Most people define themselves by what they do - 'I'm a musician.' Then one day it occurred to me that I'm only a musician when I'm playing music - or writing music, or talking about music. I don't do that 24 hours a day. I'm also a father, a son, a husband, a citizen - I mean, when I go to vote, I'm not thinking of myself as 'a musician.'

To my wife, I'm not Herbie Hancock the musician. I'm her husband. When I'm talking to a neighbor, I'm a neighbor. When I vote, I'm a citizen.

Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.

Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept. He and Bill Evans, and Ravel and Gil Evans, finally. You know, that's where it really came from. Almost all of the harmony that I play can be traced to one of those four people and whoever their influences were.

It's easy to get sidetracked with technology, and that is the danger, but ultimately you have to see what works with the music and what doesn't. In a lot of cases, less is more. In most cases, less is more.

When the suggestion was made that I might consider doing music of Joni Mitchell, I thought it was a fantastic idea. Joni, I admire not only for her music but for her person, because she's a person that really stands out for what she believes in.

I just express myself in any way I feel is appropriate at the moment.

The cool thing is that jazz is really a wonderful example of the great characteristics of Buddhism and great characteristics of the human spirit. Because in jazz we share, we listen to each other, we respect each other, we are creating in the moment. At our best, we're non-judgmental.

I am not fundamentally a musician, I am fundamentally a human being.

You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.

The Internet opens up a whole new range of possibilities in a wide range of areas.

Take whatever happens and try to make it work.

Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different.

It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself.

As a human being, I'm concerned about the world that I live in. So, I'm concerned about peace. I'm concerned about - about man's inhumanity to man. I'm concerned about the environment.

It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.

I started off with classical music, and I got into jazz when I was about 14 years old. And I've been playing jazz ever since.

I've had a life that has taken many interesting paths. I've learned a lot from mentors who were instrumental in shaping me, and I want to share what I've learned.

Each human being exists because there's something they have to offer for the evolution of the universe that only they can fulfill.

Being a musician is what I do, but it's not what I am.

I like the idea of an eclectic approach, incorporating jazz with other forms and other genres of music.

While knowledge may provide useful point of reference, it cannot become a force to guide the future.

But I have to be careful not to let the world dazzle me so much that I forget that I'm a husband and a father.

You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.

I don't view myself as a musician anymore - I view myself as a human being that functions as a musician when I'm functioning as a musician, but that's not 24 hours a day. That's really opened me up to even more perspectives because now I look at music, not from the standpoint of being a musician, but from the standpoint of being a human being.