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From Barack Obama to Stephen Hawking and Quincy Jones, jazz master Herbie Hancock recommends his favourite books of all time by Tom Taylor, Far Out Magazine.
Photo: CBS Television
Herbie Hancock is the William Shakespeare of jazz, in the sense that even the uninitiated recognise his name as a measure of quality. Over the course of his career, he has established himself as a beloved master of the art form who has pushed the genre into the future with forward-thinking innovation and the requisite style to pull it off.
Behind his style is a definite notion of self-expression and expansion. As he said himself, “Don’t be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That’s where the joy and the adventure lie.” Clearly, that same notion has impacted his literary tastes and no doubt they have in turn fed into his work in a self-perpetuating cycle of inspiration.
One of the main books that inspired the musician is Barack Obama’s memoir Dreams From My Father. “I’ve had the good fortune to meet President Obama,” he told The Week. “I believe he’s a compassionate man, and my impression of him is compatible with how he describes the flow of his life from his early childhood.”
Another of his bookshelf favourites is Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter by Michelle Mercer. As Hancock explains, “Wayne Shorter is a saxophonist, a wonderful composer, a very bright and extremely creative person, and also my best friend.”...
You can check out all of his recommended reading list below.
Source: Far Out Magazine
