Herbie Hancock talks about writing ad jingles, the influence of Ravel, the importance of playing sober, the joy of working with Joni Mitchell, and getting fired by Sonny Rollins.
Herbie Hancock’s memoir, Possibilities, gives us an account of practicing Mozart on Chicago’s South Side, getting advice from Miles Davis to “leave out the butter notes”—or was it “bottom notes?”—turning to funk, MTV, and movie soundtracks, while perpetually returning to the piano as an ever-evolving jazz immortal.
