“Officially, we presented the world with jazz,” Hancock said. “It was functioning as an international music, but now it’s officially an international music and that’s a gift from America.”
Hancock recently checked in for an update on his career and concerns in advance of this summer’s co-headlining tour with saxophonist Kamasi Washington.
New songs: "I did the latest material with a lot of different people. There are different people on different tracks. There are singers on some things and rappers on some. We've got three or four things kind of prepared. They need a little more tweaking and then they'll be released soon. We're going to release one thing at first and then maybe six weeks later we're going to release another one."
Live interpretations: "We're going to, hopefully, be doing a couple of these newer things on the tour. Right now, I don't have a singer in my band or a rapper so we'll figure out an arrangement that will work with the quartet. Instead of having a rapper, we'll have something else going on. People haven't heard it so they have nothing to compare it to."
Modern jazz: "Kamasi is really at the top of his game at this point. He's one of the most sought-after musicians. He has a large audience that's continuing to grow. People know who he is. Kamasi is actually going to be on a track or maybe more on my record, too. We have a lot of plans about how we're going to approach these things we're doing."
Call for unity: "For several years now, my focus has been on how I can help to bring people together. Unfortunately, the times right now are very divisive as far as this idea is concerned. We're at a time when we need to recognize we're all one species and we all need to help each other."
Beyond music: "People need to especially be fully aware that climate change is not a joke. We need all hands on deck to try to find answers. We all have to do what we can to slow down that process as much as we can. If we don't pay attention to that, we're all killing ourselves. We need each other to help with this crucial issue."
HOW TO GO
Who: Herbie Hancock and co-headliner Kamasi Washington
Where: Rose Music Center, 6800 Executive Blvd., Huber Heights
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7
Cost: $23.50-$78
More info: 937-228-2323 or www.ticketmaster.com
Artist info: www.herbiehancock.com
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