Post by JasonKlose on Feb 16, 2017 21:38:58 GMT -5
From The St. Louis American:
www.stlamerican.com/entertainment/living_it/jazz-great-al-jarreau-passes-at/article_f10f09ac-f3ef-11e6-a841-7f5d9e239a90.html
Just days the after seven-time Grammy Award-winning beloved jazz vocalist announced his retirement from touring due to failing health, Al Jarreau died Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 76.
Nicknamed the “Acrobat of Scat” for his innovative vocal stylings, Jarreau released more than 20 albums over the course of his career and achieved success that rippled from jazz into the genres of Pop and R&B music.
He was born Alwyn Lopez Jarreau on March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee with music in his blood.
Not long after earning a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa, Jarreau moved to San Francisco – where he began moonlighting as a musician in the late 1960s.
While there he met a young unknown pianist named George Duke. Jarreau decided to quit his day job and join the George Duke trio.
Duke, who became a jazz legend in his own right, would be the inspiration for Jarreau’s final studio album – 2014’s “My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke.”
Jarreau’s ascent into jazz royalty as a solo artist began with the release of his Grammy Award-winning debut album, 1976’s “We Got By.” Jarreau’s biggest commercial success would come by way of his sophomore release “Breakin’ Away,” which included the hit single “We’re In This Love Together.” The 1981 album transcended genres and enjoy success on the Pop, R&B and jazz charts.
The sound of “Breakin’ Away,” particularly “We’re In This Love Together,” managed to resonate with a myriad of music lovers – from the MTV generation to disciples of “quiet storm” soul music – and yet the recording still managed to appease his core audience of jazz lovers.
Although Jarreau never replicated the mainstream success he enjoyed in the early 1980s, many of his subsequent albums topped the contemporary jazz charts and he remained a concert draw and beloved musical figure around the world.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.
And despite a series of health setbacks, Jarreau remained a relentless and committed touring artist right up until the very end.
Jarreau is survived by his wife, Susan, and son Ryan.
www.stlamerican.com/entertainment/living_it/jazz-great-al-jarreau-passes-at/article_f10f09ac-f3ef-11e6-a841-7f5d9e239a90.html
Just days the after seven-time Grammy Award-winning beloved jazz vocalist announced his retirement from touring due to failing health, Al Jarreau died Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 76.
Nicknamed the “Acrobat of Scat” for his innovative vocal stylings, Jarreau released more than 20 albums over the course of his career and achieved success that rippled from jazz into the genres of Pop and R&B music.
He was born Alwyn Lopez Jarreau on March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee with music in his blood.
Not long after earning a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa, Jarreau moved to San Francisco – where he began moonlighting as a musician in the late 1960s.
While there he met a young unknown pianist named George Duke. Jarreau decided to quit his day job and join the George Duke trio.
Duke, who became a jazz legend in his own right, would be the inspiration for Jarreau’s final studio album – 2014’s “My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke.”
Jarreau’s ascent into jazz royalty as a solo artist began with the release of his Grammy Award-winning debut album, 1976’s “We Got By.” Jarreau’s biggest commercial success would come by way of his sophomore release “Breakin’ Away,” which included the hit single “We’re In This Love Together.” The 1981 album transcended genres and enjoy success on the Pop, R&B and jazz charts.
The sound of “Breakin’ Away,” particularly “We’re In This Love Together,” managed to resonate with a myriad of music lovers – from the MTV generation to disciples of “quiet storm” soul music – and yet the recording still managed to appease his core audience of jazz lovers.
Although Jarreau never replicated the mainstream success he enjoyed in the early 1980s, many of his subsequent albums topped the contemporary jazz charts and he remained a concert draw and beloved musical figure around the world.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.
And despite a series of health setbacks, Jarreau remained a relentless and committed touring artist right up until the very end.
Jarreau is survived by his wife, Susan, and son Ryan.
