"I don't know how AI will all turn out, and I don't feel comfortable predicting. But I am very interested. And I do have some things that are not commitments, but — how do I say this? — on the table for connecting me with AI and its use in musical endeavors."

Is he worried that AI could rob some musicians of their livelihoods?

"Well," he replied, "I have a tendency to look for the positive aspects. And — although it hasn't really happened yet — the potential for (AI) making things better in the world is what I'm looking forward to and believe in. But the pathway of getting there is going to be through a default line of human beings.

"Machines don't have ethics because they are not human, right? They don't have that human experience and are not made of what we are made of. They don't have a heart, so to speak. ... I believe AI will have the potential to teach us ethics and help us become better human beings. Because humans, men and women, birthed AI, so to speak. If we treat AI like our children and 'raise' AI mindfully, it will have an understanding of ethics and treating people with kindness.

"Because human beings have have been killing each other since the beginning of time. We've been killing our own species. How insane is that? It makes no sense at all. And we're still doing it, here in the 21st century. We have to learn to become better human beings, because the real problem is people, not AI."

Standing the test of time

In 2022, Hancock was the only jazz artist to perform at Bonnaroo and Glastonbury, two of the world's biggest annual rock music festivals. He was 82 at the time and earned rave reviews.

His Glastonbury Festival performance was, a reviewer for The Independent newspaper in England wrote, "so joyful and effortless it's as welcome as a burst of sunshine."

A reviewer for the newspaper The Telegram was equally effusive, writing: "Nearly 40 years have passed since Hancock released 'Future Shock,' an album many consider a vital ancestor of hip-hop, and yet his music — rich, layered and transportive — sounded as timeless as ever."

Now, at 84, Hancock shows no signs of slowing down, a point bolstered by the fact that his busy schedule now requires two managers to maintain. And his memory appears to be as sharp as ever, even though he claimed otherwise.

During the course of this interview, Hancock readily cited his favorite compositions by Stravinsky, including 1945's "Ebony Concerto." He readily recalled exactly when (May 1968) he began playing the then-brand new Fender Rhodes electric piano shortly before concluding his tenure in Miles Davis' famed quintet. And he happily recounted his first major experience as a jazz pianist— at the age of 20 — backing sax legend Coleman Hawkins.

"Right after I graduated from Grinnell in 1960, I was working at the post office and got a job playing with Coleman for two weeks at a Chicago club called Cloisters," Hancock recalled.

"Louis Taylor, the drummer, recommended me for the gig and I was thrilled! But I was still working delivering mail for the post office, where I'd also had a job during summer breaks from college. I had to be at the post office at 8 a.m. each day, after playing in the club with Coleman until 4 a.m. After a couple of days doing this, I got sick and got a cold, and it got worse. Louis told me to quit the post office, and I did."

Hancock laughed.

"This is a funny story!" he said. "When I quit the post office, they said: 'Hancock, you better keep this job with all its government benefits. You're going to regret quitting.'

"Years later, after I'd made records and led my own bands, there was a jazz festival in Chicago and my band was headlining. When we went to do our soundcheck, there was a guy sweeping the floor who let us in. He said: 'Are you Herbie Hancock?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'You used to work at the post office, didn't you?' I said: 'How did you know that?' And he said: 'I used to work there, too!' He worked there when I worked there."

Hancock laughed again.

"So, I gave him a big hug and we started laughing. I never did go back to the post office. As a matter of fact, that's what the guy said to me: 'You never came back'!"

The art of improvisation

Hancock has long been regarded as a master of improvisation whose melodic ingenuity and harmonic sophistication are in a league of their own. Here is how he explains his approach to spontaneous artistic creation.

"The way I look at music sometimes when we're improvising — that is, what may go through my head at a certain moment, like in a fraction of a second — might be: 'What would happen if I did this?' It might be a certain chord or some idea I might be ready to bring out of my subconscious.

"My MO is to try it, to go ahead and do it. If I don't feel satisfied with what I did, then — in the next instant — I have to make an attempt to make it work with what I play right after that. It's sort of a way to 'play with danger,' in a manner of speaking.

"But on the other hand, it could just lead me to use that sense of courage in trying to do other things, musically, to be in the moment, always, and to try not to avoid that impulse to play with danger. Because it's kind of natural to me, and it encourages me."

When Herbie met Lang Lang

A classically trained pianist who embraced jazz as a teenager, Herbie Hancock has long welcomed musical challenges. But he was intimidated by his "Rhapsody in Blue" piano duet with classical music star Lang Lang at the Grammy Awards in 2008.

"At first," Hancock recalled, "I turned it down, like: "No way!' I finally decided to do it and I practiced three hours a day to get up to speed. Some years later, Lang Lang and I played 'Rhapsody' with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. And some years after that, I played it by myself with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

"Lang Lang and I later went on tour together and I learned another piece that I played with him, a concerto for two pianos. I had to learn it right and we had a fantastic time. I played it pretty straight, but there were some areas where I felt like: 'This is a perfect spot for improvisation.' Lang Lang was just fascinated I could do that, because he had no concept about what improvisation was about. Then, he started doing a few improv things himself. He's wonderful."

Lang Lang is equally enthused about Hancock.

"I love Herbie — he's my favorite musician," the Chinese pianist told the Union-Tribune a few weeks ago in an interview with writer Beth Wood.

"One of the greatest moments for me was playing with him at the Grammys and doing tours together all over the world. I learned so much from him. He taught me how to have the most beautiful touch on the keys and how to integrate improvisation with the pieces I was playing. He can improvise with any piece I know how to play. He's a tremendous talent and a tremendous human being.

"Herbie really taught me how to improvise, although — compared to him — I haven't done anything. But compared to myself, I improved a lot. What he can do is out of this world. I really hope we'll catch up with each other soon and play together again."

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