INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY – APRIL 30 February 22, 2013admin No Comment Al Jarreau will be in Istanbul to celebrate the 2nd annual International Jazz Day on April 30. The event, presented by UNESCO and The Thelonius Monk Institute, commemorates jazz music worldwide, and the Istanbul concert will be the home base, while 80 other cities will host activities on the same day. For more information, go to jazz day.com newsShare : Tweet
Al Jarreau announces Palma de Mallorca concert January 28, 2013admin No CommentAl will sing in Palma de Mallorca on 28 April- his first concert on this historic island. Tickets for this Palma Arena show will be available very soon, so please check our TOUR DATES page for more details. UncategorizedShare : Tweet
TWO Grammy nominations December 22, 2012admin No CommentAl proudly announces that two of his 2012 releases are nominated for Grammy awards: –Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest Live is up for Best Jazz Vocal Album –JumpinJazz Kids – A Swinging Tale is up for Best Children’s Album He was thrilled to collaborate with Metropole Orkest & Vince Mendoza, and with the JumpinJazz creators & DeeDee & Hubert. Win or not, he appreciates their collaboration and friendship newsShare : Tweet
Al sings on Concerto di Natale December 21, 2012admin No Comment Al sang in Rome on December 15, recording 2 songs for the 20th annual Concerto di Natale , which will be broadcast on Christmas Eve in Italy (Rai Due) and beyond. Each year, the telethon-style program is produced in cooperation with Fondazione Don Bosco Nel Mondo, which manages the charity element of the event. This year, proceeds will go to the Children of Corumba-Mato Grosso, in Brazil. Accompanied by the orchestra led by Maestro Renato Serio, Al sang “The Christmas Song” as a duet with Chiara Civello newsShare : Tweet
New George Benson album includes PledgeMusic affiliation December 20, 2012admin No CommentAl’s friend George Benson is releasing a new album, recorded with 42-piece orchestra, which is affiliated with PledgeMusic: a portion of the proceeds from the album’s sales will be donated, through MusiCares, to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Please check out this website to help some deserving folks and get some great new music: PledgeMusic newsShare : Tweet
Concerto Di Natale – 12/15/12 December 20, 2012admin No CommentConcerto Di Natale Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas Concerto! I and Joe G., my manager, and Joe T., my music conductor, and Brian , my assistant, arrived from the Dubai, Belarus, and Moscow concerts, and we slip right into Rome, and jump right into the festivities. This is the 20th year of this production, and it’s always broadcast on Christmas Eve or nearby. There were 28 performers, including Italian and international stars. 2 years ago I was a part of the show, and we did it from Malta. This is a real big deal production, and it’s a high profile, prestigious honor. I did Elton John’s, “Your Song,” on my own (performance number 27 out of 28), and earlier, Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song,” with a really beautiful Italian jazz/pop singer named Chiara… She studied at Berklee School of Music in Boston, and has 3 CD’s. Her first CD was produced by Ted Templeton and Steve Gadd was all over it. This rascal writes with Burt Bacharach. She rocks. I hope you can get to Rome at all, but try to go at Christmas time. They go all out with Christmas decorations done by Tiffany’s and Gucci. Taste and elegance. I was immediately and over and over again saying, “Susan and I have to come back here again at Christmas time.” We did it before. Magic. The stage was 70 feet from the edge of the front of the stage to the back wall of the stage. With a full orchestra of at least 80 pieces and 20 background singers. Amazingly, they played all the music for all the 28 artists, and stayed in place for 4 hours. That’s a marathon. The audience could get up and move around a bit. But in fact they were there as long. They maintained attention and enthusiasm with several standing ovations right until the very end. You would have loved 7-8 young guys who sang Jingle Bell Rock. There was also Reverend Jackson’s 15-voice tri-state mass gospel choir, which was a great thing to see in Italy. They brought a Sunday morning Church feel, and brought people to their feet. There were 8 priests in the front row that sat 3 yards away from me, with warmth and enthusiasm all night long, and also stood up and applauded. I was so happy to see them, and whenever I was down front and singing they knew how I loved their presence. The evening appropriately featured 3 brilliant, classical singers. 2 performed a thrilling version of, “Beauty and the Beast,” and the classical lady in white dress sang, “Ave Maria.” It thrilled me to tears. All in all, a fabulous, wonderful event, and a great way to bring out the Christmas season, and close out the year. Hi and thank you Sabrina for all of your help! See you next year! Thanks to everyone! Love, Al diaryShare : Tweet
