Herbie Hancock on Cocks in His Audience: ‘That Means Your Music Is Dead’

It’s always ladies’ night on Cantaloupe Island.

Herbie Hancock on Cocks in His Audience: ‘That Means Your Music Is Dead’
Photo: Mathew Tsang/Getty Images

Oh, he’s fully loaded with this one. Herbie Hancock is using his octogenarian years to relay some sage advice to other musicians, telling the BBC in a new interview the best lesson he’s learned throughout his career. No, it has nothing to do with the keyboards. How about some trumpet innuendo instead? “If all you see are dudes in the audience,” he explained, “that means your music is dead.” Hancock, in turn, was told this by his old friend Miles Davis back in the ’60s — although he was a bit feistier about it. “He used more expletives than I just did,” Hancock added, “but you get the idea.” The jazz cat is now gearing up for the release of his first album in 15 years, the delay of which, he admits, was caused by the internet becoming its own bandleader. “I fall into rabbit holes on YouTube. A lot of them,” Hancock said. “New music-writing software, things about health, tech things.” Maybe Wayne Shorter had the same vice.

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