I Asked Herbie Hancock About AI

Ensemble Arts Philly: Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center July 29th, 2026

Band performing for this show:
Herbie Hancock - Keys
Terence Blanchard - Trumpet
James Genus - Bass
Lionel Loueke - Guitar
Jaylen Petinaud - Drums

I had the honor of attending the Pre-Show Soundcheck VIP Experience for the Herbie Hancock concert. It was a humbling thing to watch somebody I consider a genius at the craft in their working environment.

Herbie was running about three keyboards on stage that I could make out: a grand piano, a Korg Kronos on Rhodes patches, and a Roland AX-Edge keytar.

At the end of soundcheck they held an intimate Q&A with questions the audience had submitted and mine closed the session.

I asked

“Could there be a positive relationship between modern musicians and AI tools?”