The Versatile Al Jarreau

Five time Grammy winner Al Jarreau’s distinction lies in his trademark voice and unique renditions that encompass many musical styles.

In fact, he is perhaps the only musician who has won Grammies for best vocalist in three different categories, pop jazz and R&B.

Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, WI on March 12, 1940. The son of a vicar, he naturally started out singing in church with his brothers. Always sure that music was his first love, Jarreau however kept it on the sidelines while he completed his education and graduated with a master’s degree in psychology.

He attained a second masters in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa.

Jarreau moved to San Francisco to work as a rehabilitation counsellor. It was here that he met the upcoming George Duke and started performing with his trio in small jazz clubs in the Bay area. Eventually however, Jarreau decided to move to Los Angeles to try and establish himself as a musician. He started out performing on the club circuit, gradually expanding his repertoire by foraging into network television and providing musical interludes for comedians like Bette Midler, John Belushi and Jimmie Walker. He released his first album in the mid-60’s but it sank without a trace and Jarreau did not record again for a decade.

In 1975 Jarreau resurfaced with the critically acclaimed We Got By, which went on to win a German Grammy for Best New International Soloist. This was followed by Glow in 1976 and a successful two disc live recording Look to the Rainbow in 1977. The second broke into the Top 50 music charts and won Jarreau a Grammy. Jarreau scored his first Top Ten hit in 1981 with Breakin’ Away, which also won Grammys for Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance and for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Jarreau continued recording throughout the eighties. Among his releases were the Grammy nominated This Time (1980), Moonlighting (1987) and Heart’s Horizon (1988). Moonlighting was used as the theme for the popular television series of the same name.

Jarreau had also started expanding his horizons with his acting talents. He had an acting part in the Broadway production of Grease! and also made guest appearances on television shows like Touched By An Angel and New York Undercover.

In the nineties Jarreau’s popularity with pop fans started declining. Releases like Heaven and Earth (1992) and Tenderness(1994) did well but by adult contemporary listeners. Heaven and Earth won Jarreau another Grammy for Best R&B Performance.

By the time the new millennium dawned, Jarreau was producing little original music. However things changed when he teamed up once more with producer Tommy LiPuma who had worked with him on We Got By and other early albums.

Rejuvenated Jarreau proceeded to release Tomorrow Today (2000), All I Got (2002) and Accentuate the Positive (2006). Jarreau maintained that the last album was actually his first real jazz record, even though he had been hailed as a jazz vocalist for years. An album with George Benson, Givin’ It Up was released in 2006, going on to be nominated for Grammy for three of its tracks. His latest release was Christmas in 2008.

Jarreau has also earned an honorary doctorate in performing arts (1988) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001. He was awarded the Ford Freedom Award Scholar in 2005.

A perennial favourite, Al Jarreau continues to sing with no intention of stopping any time soon!

TJ Grooves - Soul Music TV & Rare Soul Grooves.com