Hancock Captures Best Album Grammy
"I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time." With those words, Herbie Hancock '60 accepted the Grammys' Album of the Year Award last night in Los Angeles. It was only the second time in the 50-year history of the Grammys that the award had gone to a jazz artist.
By winning Album of the Year, Hancock beat out some of the industry's hottest young names, including Kanye West and Amy Winehouse. It was the first time a jazz artist has received the award since 1964.
Hancock was honored for his all-star tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Letters. The album features artists including Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, Leonard Cohen, and most notably, Mitchell herself. In the pre-televised portion of the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Hancock also won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
As Hancock thanked the Recording Academy for the final award of the night, he remembered jazz artists of the past. "In doing so, [you] honor the giants upon whose shoulders I stand, some of whom, like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, unquestionably deserved this award in the past.
"But this is a new day that proves that the impossible can be made possible. 'Yes, we can,' to coin a phrase," Hancock concluded, quoting a phrase made popular by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
To view a video about River, visit http://www.fastfocus.tv/media.aspx?id=357.
