AL Jarreu And Ashford & Simpson Performance

“We’re in this love together. We got the kind that lasts forever. And like berries on the vine, it gets sweeter all the time”. Do these lyrics sound familiar? They were made popular by the only vocalist in history to net Grammy Awards in three different categories: jazz, pop, and R&B. Yes, it’s Al Jarreau who will be taking his musical talents to the Nokia Theatre at Times Square, for Love Is In The Air – An Evening of Love Songs on February 15th.

For those of you who may not know Jarreau, his career has expanded for decades that probably started with his first performances singing secular songs in a choir with his mother as the church pianist. Born in Milwaukee, WI, on March 12, 1940, he was the son of a preacher. Where did it go from there? I interviewed Al on my radio show, Whirl With Merle on www.blogtalkradio.com this past Monday afternoon.

Al hearing my sense of humor said, “You fit perfectly in my band.” He asked me if I ever hung out at the Improv as he did, “known to be the place to get the bugs out of your routine.” It seemed that he did the hanging out in the late 1960’s and that he and Julio Martinez were the “comic relief”. Back to his career, Al has performed on Valentine’s Day in New York City for several years as a tradition. In addition, this year, Ashford & Simpson will be on the roster with a new rendition of “Solid As A Rock”…Solid As Barack”.

As a young man, Al got a gig singing in between the double feature movies with performances earning $75 a week and the non-paying Do Whop on the street corners. There was an a capella choir (he admits to now being able to sing any song from a Broadway musical) and then onto nightclubs while he went through grad school. He soon went off to San Francisco where, after earning his master’s degree in psychology, pursued a career as a Rehab Counselor and singing two-three nights a week with a trio from 1964-68. When the club folded he made the decision to do his music full time.

The change that began to occur was in writing his music as he now had the time to think about it. He and Julio Martinez did a four-year run at Gatsby’s in Sausalito. Al tells me, “Raggedy Ann and Susan’s Song were two of the songs that we wrote for my first album.”

What is the difference in his styles? “I’m weaving a jazzy approach throughout my music”, although he admits that 2% of his music are specifically “jazz”. I felt that his song Mornin’ became one of the most “heard” songs on the radio. We then broke to compare the songs Roof Garden and Rainbow In Your Eyes. Although Roof Garden is more jazzy with “skat” they are common to all of his music with “syncopation”. We also agreed that the jazz radio stations, such as CD 101.9 are great for waking up to in the morning.

What else was Al Jarreau’s famed music? How about the theme from the television program, Moonlighting. We then talked about the type of jazz of which I labeled as “showing off your instrument”. “Jazz lost a bit of its form”, said Al. “It used to be music that people danced to.”

His latest CD is Love Songs, produced just a few years ago, although he did cut a Christmas CD last year. The song Take Five has become one of his favorite songs that “takes on a life of its own” as “every group that takes on Al Jarreau and becomes a new song just about every night”. We should look forward to having him perform that song on February 15th.

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have been two of the most influential songwriters and performers in R&B music since the 1970s. Their compositions include some of the greatest hits of all time: “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By”, “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand” (Diana Ross), and “I’m Every Woman” (Chaka Khan). Their own recording career reached highs in the 1980s with the #1 hit smash “Solid”. Today they continue to record and tour the world performing to SOLD OUT audiences and spreading musical joy to many, many loyal fans. These are two performers you won’t want to miss!
Tickets: $89.50/$79.50/$59.50
Available at www.ticketmaster.com
For more information visit http://www.SmoothJazzNewYork.com