“Herbie Hancock played his first concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he was 11 years old. Two years later, he heard a classmate play jazz piano at a variety show and thought, “That’s my instrument, and he can do that? Why can’t I?” It turned out he could. (Laughter.)
By 23, Herbie was playing with Miles Davis in New York and on his way to becoming a jazz legend. And he didn’t stop there. In the seventies, he put his electrical engineering studies to work and helped create electronic music. In the eighties, his hit “Rockit” became an anthem for a fledging new genre called hip-hop. At one recent show, he played alongside an iMac and five iPads. (Laughter.) And a few years ago, he became the first jazz artist in 43 years to win a Grammy for best album.
But what makes Herbie so special isn’t just how he approaches music; it’s how he approaches life. He tours the world as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He’s done so many benefit concerts that Joni Mitchell once gave him a watch inscribed with the words: “He played real good for free.” (Laughter.) And we know this because he’s played here for free a lot. (Laughter and applause.) We work Herbie, I’m telling you. (Laughter.)
But we just love the man. Michelle and I love this man, not just because he’s from Chicago. Not just because he and I had the same hairdo in the 1970s. (Laughter.) Not just because he’s got that spooky Dorian Gray doesn’t-get-older thing going on. (Laughter.) It is his spirit, it is his energy — which is relentless and challenging, and he’s always pushing boundaries. Herbie once said of his outlook, “We’re going to see some unbelievable changes. And I would rather be on the side of pushing for that than waiting for somebody else to do it.”
Well, Herbie, we are glad that you didn’t wait for somebody else to do what you’ve done, because nobody else could. For always pushing us forward, we honor Herbie Hancock.” (Applause.)
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