Herbie Hancock Explores 'Possibilities'

April 14, 2006 — -- With a career spanning more than four decades, it would be easy for Herbie Hancock to coast on his reputation and not push the boundaries of his music.

But as he demonstrates in "Possibilities," the documentary opening today in Los Angeles and New York that follows the making of his Grammy-nominated CD bearing the same title, coasting is not Hancock's style.

Throughout his career -- and in his life -- he has loved exploring possibilities and had a chance to share a musical journey in seemingly unlikely collaborations with artists such as Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, Joss Stone and others.

"The film really captured the humanity of what went on," Hancock told ABCNEWS.com. "I wanted to seek out artists who may have gotten locked in, that once they had a hit record, studios may have pressured them to keep producing the same thing, to stay in that comfort zone. I tried to encourage these talented people to step outside that comfort zone."

Stepping outside a comfort zone has been a predominant theme in Hancock's career. He first learned the value of collaborations and being open-minded to individual music styles when, as a piano prodigy, he was invited to join Miles Davis' quintet in 1963. Hancock's five-year stint with Davis was not just a launching pad and foundation for his career, he learned lessons from Davis that he has applied to both his professional and personal life.

"The one thing I learned from Miles is that he never judged anything," Hancock said. "He never judged anything -- he just played with what he had. He worked with the cards that he was dealt. And that's something you can apply to life. Now, as a member of a band, you get to choose the people you play with, but in life, you don't always get a chance to choose the circumstances you have to deal with. Sometimes you have to work with what you've been dealt and make the best out of your given situation."

After leaving Davis' quintet, Hancock transitioned from jazz to R&B and new-age funk, producing several hits with his group The Headhunters in the 1970s. He was one of the first artists to recognize the creative potential of hip-hop, collaborating with Grandmaster DST on his 1983 album "Future Shock," which produced the Grammy and MTV Video Award-winning hit "Rock It." His song "Cantaloupe Island" was the basis of the jazz/hip-hop fusion group US3's 1993 hit "Cantaloop."