Al Jarreau

All you want to know about Al Jarreau

Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau at the North Sea Jazz Festival of 2006.
Al Jarreau at the North Sea Jazz Festival of 2006.
Background information
Birth name Alwyn Lopez Jarreau
Born March 12, 1940 (1940-03-12) (age 68)
Origin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Genre(s) Jazz, pop, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Vocals, Percussion
Label(s) Reprise, Warner Bros., GRP, Concord, Rhino
Website www.aljarreau.com

Alwyn Lopez "Al" Jarreau (born March 12, 1940) is an American singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he is the only vocalist in history to win in three separate categories: jazz, pop, and R&B. He won the aforementioned Grammys within a span of four consecutive decades — the '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s.

Contents

Biography

Al Jarreau at book drive event held at the Department of Education on August 25, 2004.
Al Jarreau during a concert in Germany in early 1981
Al Jarreau in Wrocław, Poland; June 25th, 2006
Al Jarreau headlining "Jazz in Kiev 2008" festival

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a vicar, Jarreau's first singing experiences were in a church choir. He attended Ripon College, where he also sang non-professionally with a group called the Indigos, and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor Of Science degree in Psychology. [1]He went on to earn a master's degree in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University of Iowa and worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco while also performing evenings with a jazz trio headed by George Duke.

In 1967, he joined forces with acoustic guitarist Julio Martinez. The duo became the star attraction at a small Sausalito night club called Gatsby's. This success contributed to Jarreau's decision to make professional singing his life and fulltime career.

In 1969, Jarreau and Martinez headed south, where Jarreau appeared in such Los Angeles hot spots as Dino's, the Troubadour and Bitter End West. Television exposure came from Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and David Frost, while he expanded his nightclub appearances to include performing at The Improv between the acts of such rising-star comics as Bette Midler, Jimmie Walker, and John Belushi, among others.

In 1975, Jarreau was working with pianist Tom Canning when he was spotted by Warner Bros. Records and soon thereafter released his critically acclaimed debut album, We Got By, which catapulted him to international fame and garnered him a German Grammy Award. A second German Grammy would follow with the release of his second album, Glow.

One of Jarreau's most commercially and artistically successful albums is Breakin' Away (1981), which includes the hit song "We're in This Love Together." He wrote and performed the Grammy-nominated theme to the 1980s American television show Moonlighting. Among other things, he is well-known for his scat singing and the ability to imitate conventional guitar, bass and percussive instrumentation. He was also a featured vocalist on USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in which he sang the line, "...and so we all must lend a helping hand."

In 2003 Jarreau and conductor Larry Baird collaborated together doing symphony shows around the United States, with Baird arranging additional orchestral material for Jarreau's shows.

He has toured and performed with such greats as Joe Sample, Kathleen Battle, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Rick Braun and George Benson. He also performed the role of the Teen Angel in a 1996 Broadway production of Grease. On March 6, 2001 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

Al Jarreau appeared in a duet with American Idol finalist Paris Bennett during the Season 5 finale and on Celebrity Duets singing with actor Cheech Marin.

Discography

Albums

  • 1965: 1965 (Bainbridge)
  • 1975: We Got By (Reprise)
  • 1976: Glow (Reprise) - US# 132, R&B #30, Jazz# 9
  • 1977: Look to the Rainbow (Warner Bros.) - US# 49, R&B# 19, Jazz# 5
  • 1978: All Fly Home (Warner Bros.) - US# 78, R&B# 27, Jazz# 2
  • 1980: This Time (Warner Bros.) - US# 27, R&B# 6, Jazz# 1
  • 1981: Breakin' Away (Warner Bros. Records) - US# 9, R&B# 1, Jazz# 1, UK# 60
  • 1983: Jarreau (Warner Bros. Records) - US# 13, R&B# 4, Jazz# 1, UK# 39
  • 1983: The Masquerade Is Over (Happy Bird)
  • 1983: Ain't No Sunshine (Magnum / Blue Moon)
  • 1984: High Crime (Warner Bros.) - US# 49, R&B# 12, Jazz# 2, UK# 81
  • 1984: In London (Warner Bros.) - US# 125, R&B# 55, Jazz# 10
  • 1984: Spirits & Feelings
  • 1984: Al Jarreau (Forever Gold)
  • 1985: Replay of Al Jarreau
  • 1985: You (Colliers)
  • 1986: L Is For Lover (Warner Bros) - US# 81, R&B# 30, Jazz# 9, UK# 45
  • 1987: Sings Bill Withers (Blue Moon)
  • 1988: Manifesto
  • 1988: Heart's Horizon (Warner Bros.) - US# 75, R&B# 10, Jazz# 1
  • 1992: Heaven and Earth (Warner Bros.) - US# 105, R&B# 30, Jazz# 2
  • 1994: Tenderness (Warner Bros.) US# 114, R&B# 25, Jazz# 2
  • 1995: Living For You (Blue Moon)
  • 1996: Best of Al Jarreau (Warner Bros.) - Jazz #8
  • 1996: Lean on Me (ITC Masters)
  • 1998: Tribute to Bill Withers (Culture Press)
  • 1998: Love & Happiness (Mastertone)
  • 1998: Improvisations (Blue Moon)
  • 1999: Masters (Eagle Rock)
  • 2000: Tomorrow Today (GRP) - US# 137, R&B# 43, Jazz# 1
  • 2000: Gold Collection (Fine Tune)
  • 2000: Al Jarreau: Magic Collection (The Magic Collection)
  • 2000: Golden Legends (Direct Source)
  • 2000: Come Rain or Shine (Jazz Time)
  • 2000: Early Gold And New Spins (Cleopatra)
  • 2001: This One's for You (Hallmark)
  • 2001: Expressions (Prism)
  • 2002: Free Spirit (Park South Records)
  • 2002: Still In Love With You (Blue Moon)
  • 2002: All I Got (GRP) - US# 137, R&B# 43, Jazz# 3
  • 2002: One Note Samba (Traditional Line)
  • 2003: Members Edition (United Multi License)
  • 2004: Al and Lou (2 Camels)
  • 2004: Master Classics (Master Classics)
  • 2004: Accentuate the Positive (Verve) - Jazz# 2
  • 2005: The Great Al Jarreau (Goldies)
  • 2005: My Favorite Things (Golden Stars)
  • 2005: R&B Soul (Direct Source)
  • 2006: Most Famous Hits (Most Famous)
  • 2006: Al Jarreau/George Benson Super (MNT)
  • 2006: Improvisations Album One (Synergie)
  • 2006: Improvisations Album Two (Synergie)
  • 2006: Living for You (Synergie)
  • 2006: Givin' It Up (with George Benson) (Concord) - US# 58, R&B# 14, Jazz# 1
  • 2007: R&B Soul: Live (Direct Source)
  • 2008: Look To The Rainbow: Live in Europe
  • 2008: Love Songs (Rhino)
  • 2008: Christmas (Rhino)

Singles

  • 1976: "Rainbow In Your Eyes" - R&B #92
  • 1977: "Take Five" - R&B #91
  • 1978: "Thinkin' About It Too" - R&B #55
  • 1980: "Distracted" - R&B #61
  • 1980: "Gimme What You Got" - R&B #63
  • 1980: "Never Givin' Up" - R&B #26
  • 1981: "We're In This Love Together" - US #15, R&B #6
  • 1982: "Breakin' Away" - US #43, R&B #25
  • 1982: "Teach Me Tonight" - US #70, R&B #51
  • 1982: "Your Precious Love" - R&B #16
  • 1983: "Boogie Down" - US #77, R&B #9
  • 1983: "Mornin'" - US #21, R&B #6
  • 1983: "Trouble In Paradise" - US #63, R&B #66
  • 1984: "After All" - US #69, R&B #26
  • 1985: "Raging Waters" - R&B #42
  • 1986: "L Is For Lover" - R&B #42
  • 1986: "Tell Me What I Gotta Do" - R&B #37
  • 1987: "Moonlighting" - US #23, R&B #32
  • 1988: "So Good" R&B #2
  • 1989: "All of My Love" - R&B #69
  • 1989: "All or Nothing At All" - R&B #59
  • 1992: "Blue Angel" - R&B #74
  • 1992: "It's Not Hard to Love You" - R&B #36

Session

Grammy Awards

Wins

Nominations

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jarreau"

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