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St. Mortiz, Switzerland – 2015

St. Moritz, Switzerland – 2015

St. Moritz. Dracula Club. We’ve played here one other time before…only once. But this venue and location is so rare that you find yourself thinking about it a lot. At the moment, we’re descending back down the Alps here in Switzerland and we’re looking at unbelievable mountain ranges and evidences of geology that is mind blowing. One changing visual after another. It’s dizzying.

Ok let’s get back to the Dracula Club. The guys who organized this club were part of an Olympic bobsledding team who continued to bobsled long after competitions. But the unbelievably wild thing is that they found a way to bobsled at night, especially late at night. And somehow, the term “Dracula” came into play. Amazingly they were serious jazz lovers and did the almost unthinkable thing of building a restaurant/club/performing venue. It’s cramped and tiny but that’s the magic. People sitting on the floor close enough to reach out and touch them. I don’t know another club like it in the world. There’s even a balcony in this room that is about 20 yards square.

You just don’t forget this. The people love the music and they’re super precious about this setting. And they are right.

As a performer, it’s a lead pipe cinch in this setting. So, once again, when our outfit took the “stage” (that’s right—same level as the people) and gave it to ‘em the same way we do at the Hollywood Bowl with all the bells and whistles, you make “friends” real fast and they ask you back. We were here 24 months ago, but now we’re back with a new program of music and the surprise and near astonishment is real visible. Huge grins with eyes darting back and forth from one soloist to another in the band. They were singing along a lot and I love it because it never interrupts the serious soloing and playing of the band but rather brings them in and makes them performers themselves (with us). Somehow this is happening on this tour more than ever before. It’s got me grinning right now.

We’re popping and sparking and Mark has them astonished. They are so very close to this kind of intensity with its “right now” improvisational freshness. A balcony in a place this small is so unique as to make you think of the coziness of a loft. Where are the pajamas and potato chips?!?

We did a little more than an hour and a half but could have played all night long. They were yelling for more! Christian and the other club personnel were laughing and grinning…and so were we. When we left, I was surprised to see the rain. There had been a pretty good little downpour and I immediately thought, “They came out anyway.”

As we were leaving I had this little tugging regret that I couldn’t do the most natural thing in the world in this situation, which is to stay and hang out with the people in this restaurant/bar. That’s what I used to do. But these days my legs and back don’t like that so I head back to the hotel and enjoy the thunder and rain in my room.

As I said earlier, we’re descending down this glorious mountain with little villages and I keep thinking somebody’s going to pinch me and I’m going to wake up from this amazing dream. This doesn’t happen to kids from Milwaukee from the other side of the tracks. I was just talking to my sister, Rose Marie, about all of that just yesterday.

Well, we’re going to do this one more time on this tour in Munich tomorrow. Then we’ll go home. Thank you, God! This was wonderful!

Love,

Al

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Mainz, Germany – 2015

Mainz, Germany – 2015

I’ve been here before several times and the last time was two years ago. But I always forget and it’s right on the River Rheine. And this time, we’ll play a new venue for me from a boat that IS literally docked on the Rheine and will play to people on the shore. That’s another new one. When I woke up that morning and looked out my hotel window, the venue was visible from a far off audience standpoint. A broad, flat terrace leading from the front of the hotel to cement stairs that went right down to the shoreline. The audience was looking at the stage and performers on a boat with the River Rheine flowing past…and I do mean flowing! You could see ripples as it urgently moved along. No stagnant stream here.

All of this put the first row of seated audience people about 40 yards from the stage, and as per my previous discussions about distances to the first row, I wasn’t happy. But all of the audience seemed to be accustomed to that and they received our messages from the stage really loud and clear and responded in a way that gave us high certainty.

The opening act, Leona Berlin, was a quintet of students from University of Mainz who highlighted the audience with their young, jazzy program (later they all came to say hello and we talked about me coming to hang out with them at their music school sometime in the future).

I and everybody were so glad for a cool and overcast day. In a certain respect, there was no way to lose tonight.

Once again I’m struck with the obvious results of the long, long relationship I have with this audience and their mothers and uncles. You may remember that sometimes I describe this as being almost as though I was a young neighborhood kid that emerged onto the music scene from some local town who did well at home and went off to the rest of Europe with their best wishes. They feel to be part of that little success story. And I feel it too.

After a couple of encores, I was quietly whispering to myself, “Thank God”. This is the part of the tour where my throat is glad for any little break it can get.

So off we go back down the stairs to my great little dressing room with a grey haired, rosy checked attendant/guard who could have been the real life model for the little old sausage maker cartoon. He was shy and a little nervous about my American over-exuberance. By the end of the night he was smiling and had warmed up. He helped me with the German word for “fly”. Flurgen. That’s what happened that night. We flew!

Now it’s off to Switzerland! See you there.

Love,

Al

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Dusseldorf, Germany – 2015

Dusseldorf, Germany – 2015

This venue and type of venue was a first for me and I’m glad that the “Unique Moniques” were there to pay witness. They’ve seen me inside, outside, in concert halls with 15,000 people at North Sea, etc., etc. But never at a planetarium! Well, converted planetarium that still has the dome ceiling against which the Milky Way would be projected with all its stars and planets. I’m not sure when the conversion took place but it was well done. A domed ceiling like that could easily have been just a monstrous reflection of uncontrollable sound that bounces everywhere like being in an oil drum. Not so here. It was great! It made for a quite sizable performance space. From front to back it was about 50 yards and its diameter from side-to-side was about 75 yards. It had a balcony that was almost wrap around and the dome ceiling was painted and lit in such a way that you almost had a sky-like effect left over its planetarium use.

I was so aware of the uniqueness of this venue and the fact that the “Unique Moniques” were here to see me and this band knock it out of the park—Grand Slam! These old friends know about the new “me” and my challenges new challenges. And so, to have a hot night like we had that was so satisfying for me and the band, it was great to share with folks who know.

Before we played the first note, the audience was giving me and the band a standing ovation. WOW! It just gets better from there. They even allowed me to play with the name of their town, saying silly things like “three-seldorf”, “four-seldorf”, “whos-eldorf”, and “what-seldorf”. And then in the next moment we would be totally serious about the music.

Bam! Amazing! Right there in the front row were two sisters who’ve been coming since they were teenagers from Berlin. I almost jumped off the stage and hugged them. They brought me another stuffed teddy bear (the mascot of Berlin). I’m sure I have 8 or 10 bears like that—usually smaller—about 3 inches tall at home in my office.

The whole night followed this pattern of give and take and we-ism­ that is ideal and dreamlike for performing. The mood and the feeling mounts and multiplies on itself, and by the end of the night, everyone’s feeling as though they have been abducted and transported and really seeing the Milky Way and the stars like this old planetarium was meant to do. Along the way we played lots of standards from my book and seasoned that collection with several new pieces that brought grins and nodding heads.

Mark Simmons has caught fire these days and found yet a new level of drumming that’s bringing people to their feet mid performance. Just generally speaking, there’s nothing like several weeks on tour to get everybody sharper and in tune and connected with each other. We nod our head about that.

We’ve taken a couple seasons off from regular performances of “Spain” but it was so obvious, even in sound check today, that John’s acoustic guitar would ring so beautifully in this room and be heard like it seldom gets to be heard. And so when he plucks the first notes that suggest the Spanish mode of “Spain” there is immediate applause, without us even playing the signature melodies and lines. When we do, they clap four to the measure—almost Flamenco-like—and then Larry solos his butt off.

Everything is wonderful! We end up doing four encores…and they would have stayed for more. We know that backstage there’s a room full of guests so we beg off and they let us exit.

Backstage, we’re all almost jumping up and down like little kids with a popsicle. And there’s Carol and Garol! When I asked about their kids, they say, “Oh yea, wonderful! 19 and 21 now and doing great.” Blows my mind, but it fits right with what I so often mention directly to audiences these days that I’m looking at people who first saw me when they were teens and pre-teens and now their kids are coming with kids. What a gift from God. What a blessing! I’m the luckiest guy in the world. What an occupation!

Just as we were leaving, downstairs at the exit door, a husband and wife—both in wheelchairs—just took my breath away. They had come to see me play and waited around for at least an hour. They were determined to not leave until they said hello and I signed an autograph for them. He was paraplegic with good upper body control, but she had much less mobility. It hit me like a lighting bolt. Wow! He’s taking care of her. He’s her caregiver…full time. I hugged them as hard as I could and did autographs and knew even then it was too little. And then we did autographs for 15 other people who were waiting outside the backstage entrance.

Ok, enough for now. I got to hurry to Mainz. We’re on stage in 18 hours. On a boat J.

Love,

Al

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Torino, Italy – 2015

Torino, Italy – 2015

Dramatically speaking, this date on the summer tour calendar was as distant as Pluto. I guess I said that before. Well here we are on a return visit with just a few more miles to go as we are closing out the summer tour, which had so many question marks surrounding it—mainly having to do with my new back. The answer in short is that I’m finding a new Al Jarreau who is less physically busy on stage but has found another door open up that has gotten me inside the music in a new and special way. I’m hearing and seeing things that I had not before!

It’s hotter than blue blazes here in the city, but here comes cool, sweet Roberta to welcome us back to Torino…to one of those “new in the world” Italian performing venues that’s part of a shopping mall. They’re taking the music to the people. That’s a brilliant concept. That particular iPhone/Blackberry/Shopping crazy audience has been slipping away because we somehow don’t get to them in their gathering place. This will be a serious situation for the new artist to deal with.

I have to say that Italy as much as any country has kept quite good focus on traditional musical concepts and ways of performing. Puccini, Verde, Pavarotti, and Caruso will always be at the top of their charts (and for me, Cecilia Bartoli—a rising star). So for them to have accepted and enjoyed my music since the first record in 1975 is quite a compliment.

The outdoor cabins backstage are small but comfortable and cool. And cool…I’ll say it twice! We start at 10:00pm and are thankful for sundown. And, wow, I’m stunned that this place has the feel of a permanent outdoor music amphitheater. And there’s 2,500 people out there…sold out. Thank you, God. And they’re immediately singing, “I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words…”. And then they’re right into singing “I need somebody” from “Black and Blues”. Pretty hip sing-a-long. I love it. These simple little sing-a-long phrases are interspersed with some very serious instrumental stuff. And the reaction to a new song called “Great City” has been wonderful every time. It’s like Jimmy Smith’s organ meets the Count Bassie band and Joe Williams. Stompin’.

When it’s comfortable sometimes I meander in my thoughts on stage and this one was one to remember. I meandered into the comment “what a wonderful pope we have these days.” He cares about poor people and all who need help. He was just in South America doing that. And further more, this IS our responsibility to each other. Lots of heads nodding up and down. No standing ovation but I think they got it. That will be one of my favorite meanderings.

We made a few changes in the program that bring back a couple more well known Jarreau standards that gets smiles of recognition. Pretty soon we’re doing “Boogie Down” and “Roof Garden” and saying good night…. They jump on my first “day-o”, almost inaudible like an afterthought. Then I pick it up and continue and somewhere Harry Belafonte’s going, “What?!”.

I stopped and signed a few autographs before getting on the bus, and just like when we left the stage, everyone is all smiles, grinning and chuckling and laughing with real delight about a wonderful evening.

Off to Germany we go!

Love,

Al

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Antibes, France – 2015

Antibes, France – 2015

Here I am starring out the window again…daydreaming. I’m singing my vocal warm-ups, viewing my “gratitude thank you’s” again, and soon Sam and I will repack the few things we took out of my bag for this 2 and a half hour stay in the hotel. The venue is right on the beach and we play with our backs to the Mediterranean Sea. You could throw a baseball into the water and a light covering of sand is everywhere under your feet as you move along this semi-permanent structures of the festival backstage. Last night Lionel Richie kicked the butt here and even did a small choir version of “We are the World” (he, Michael Jackson, and Quincy Jones wrote that song). The poster also announced that other nights’ headliners would include Marcus Miller, Chick Corea and Herbie, and Carlos Santana.

Our left over energy from Montreux spurs us into this new day that would have us on stage before sun down. It was like a matinee. And I can tell ya, folks, that that is great stuff to be able to see the audience as the sun sets. Right in the front row is a young man with dark hair and dark glasses on who was throwing his head back and forth like rockers in AC/DC. It was delightful! I had to point to him and talk to him, and there were lots of folks in his general vicinity who saw this uninhibited joy and enthusiasm.  And about 4 rows behind him were four teenage girls. Tres jolie (pretty as can be)!  They danced in their seats, too, and when I pointed them out, they giggled and hugged each other.

There was seating at ground level, and bleachers behind that, and also a standing area on the sides and surrounding the venue that was probably free. And these people really shouted and waved and danced with enthusiasm, as is often the case that the really serious fans cannot “purchase” a ticket early perhaps because they are younger or pressed for cash but willing to stand outside the barriers—just so happy to be there! They dance all night long with every opportunity they get to groove hard. Sometimes you sing and play to them.

Our promoter, who has hired us for lots of dates with us over the years, in the South of France introduced us to begin the concert, and came back on stage with the mayor (AMAZING) after our last song to present me with a special framed poster honoring my many years with this festival. I should be prepared for moments like this but I always stumble around trying to find something appropriate to say and this time managed to give a special thanks to France and the south of France for keeping this music alive. Thank you Jean-Rene!

Eldred Ellis for the Half Note Club is here. Fantastic! He just saw John Hendricks, 93 years old, in two or three different venues in NYC in the last six months and will visit John’s daughter, Michelle, in Paris this weekend. Michelle is carrying on her dad’s tradition and is an extraordinary jazz singer—seasoned, polished, and burnin’. I send my love.

A month ago, this point in the tour seemed as far away as Pluto. And now here we are with five concerts left. We’ve had some aches and pains (I’m not the only one), but we’ve pushed right on through rediscovering our purpose and ourselves again.

See you in hot Torino!

Love,

Al

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Montreux Jazz Festival – 2015

Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland – 2015

Bonjour, Buon Giorno, and Guten Tag…that’s all I can say. Montreux speaks all three languages and they come from all three of those different countries. Germany, Italy, and France have nearby cities with people who dearly love this festival. I say it every time and I’ll say it again. The ride into town out of the Alps down to Lake Geneva is breath taking. In many places you’re looking 30 miles across the lake at mountains in the distance that must be 100 miles away and then, in either direction, even farther (because Lake Geneva is a long one). You watch all of this unfold as you settle down to lake level for 45 min. Amazing. This has been happening to yours truly, a kid from Milwaukee, for 39 years…a kid from Milwaukee!

So many people who became life long friends of my music heard me and Tom Canning as a duo in 1976. We were supposed to rehearse and play with a really well known band, but one of their principles got sick and it didn’t happen, even though it had been announced. The longtime producer of the festival (and my dear friend) Claude Nobs, loved to tell that story every time he introduced me on stage over the years. Of course the concluding remark was that Al and Tom went on as a duo and killed. Me and my cabaca thumpin’ on the mic stand base with my foot making a bass drum sound and doing what we had done (actually for 3 years before this occasion—at the Blah Blah Café in San Fernando Valley over the hills in Hollywood) getting into a high level of performing. It worked! This audience has grown steadily and so has my band and performances over the years, and here we go again.

In the last few years, I’ve been honored to serve on the jury of the festival’s vocalist competitions, and this year I was the president of that panel. Wow! And I was blown away by the competition. My band director and arranger and music producer, Joe Turano, joined me on the panel. God, I love Joe. He’s so smart, such an accomplished musician (keyboards and 3 saxophones), sings his ass off, and knows the also important history, Jazz and other. We had a ball. We heard ten semi-finalists on Wednesday and selected 3 finalists who sing again on Thursday for first, second, and third prizes. Then later that evening the band and I performed in the new Montreux Jazz Club in Stravinsky Hall.

We had a great night on stage with a fabulous audience that cheered us on and stood up calling for encores. And we all were thrilled about coming to Montreux again. This is a mecca! But right now I can tell you I’m having a difficult time saying that all of the above might have topped by the vocal competition. During 13 individual performances over two days my waning faith in the jazz singing vernacular got a serious boost in being restored. I was amazed at this group of young people (mostly in their 20s) from all over the world who had developed a serious love for this “jazzy” way of singing. There were so many of them with the tools and abilities and interests to become world-class performers. I’ve been judging singing competitions for years and have never seen anything this great. In the end, first prize went to Alina Engibaryan from Russia, second prize went to Vuyo Sotashe from South Africa, and third prize wen to Yumi Ito from America.

Of course and to my delight the band continues to rise to the occasion and perform our new program exquisitely and with joy and enthusiasm. They have had to deal with a new lead singer, almost. Since the surgery in October I myself have had to deal with a new singer. But I’m finding me and I’m okay with it. So it was a great day for me and the band on stage

Last year’s winner of the vocal competition, Alita Moses, opened for us and then walked on and surprised everyone by singing “Summertime” with me. What a great pick and what a great singer! She is fashion model gorgeous, and she sings with a wonderful across-the-board understanding of where jazz meets R&B and pop and sings Brazilian music with the best of us. She’s got it!

I spoke for a moment about the competition. I don’t want to go on and on, but I fell in love with our panel of judges. Along with Joe Turano were Carine Zuber, Joe Farmer, and Wendy Oxenhorn (I sang the ever popular “Wendy” to her). Before it was all over we felt like family. I never witnessed such caring, compassion, and concern for this group of singers. At some point or another they all ended up with tears in their eyes. It was amazing and I hope we can do it again next year!

If I left anything out, please excuse me. It’s time to drive to Antibes in the Côte d’Azur. We’re on stage at 8:30pm the next day after a 9-hour bus ride. See you there!

Love,

Al

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