Category : diary

Santa Barbara, CA – 2015

Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theater – 2015

Playing in Santa Barbara just like Yountville the night before is a very serious reminder that the big city is only part of the world of music listeners. In fact, as a performer, if you want to feel refreshed and rejuvenated, you should be sure to find some audiences that are typically bypassed by most touring groups.

The last time we were in Santa Barbara was six years ago. That’s terrible. That’s no way to treat an audience of listeners and concertgoers who are friends of your music. I can’t help thinking about this kind of stuff, y’all. It’s troublesome to me and I have to take the time to talk about this now while I’m thinking about it.

Right here I have to ask you if you’ve searched out the Shannon West article I posted a few times ago. Part of my takeaway from that article is that, good or bad—and these are my own thoughts and words—this is a brand new day of music appreciation in our country and world that is quite unlike any other time. In short, there is the fiercest competition for the listeners’ mind and eyes and ears that there’s ever been in history. Just for instance, any youngster is lured by the biggest and best film features with animation that makes any and every feat of human ability happen in front of their eyes with all the bells and whistles and guts and gore. And you can even get it on your iPhone or laptop while you are crossing the street and tweeting and texting. Can you imagine John Lennon’s “Imagine” or Police’s “Roxanne” or Green Day’s “When I come around” finding listening space and attention span in this kind of atmosphere? All of this has the effect of scattering a person’s interest so that only the most obvious and base-ish human activities tend to get through…sex and violence and the like. And the younger the observer, the more powerful the lure.

There will always be headliners that sell out 20,000 seat venues to screaming teenagers. But there has always been an audience for the smaller venue…the 12 to 2,500 seater. This audience doesn’t find their interests or musical tastes even demonstrated or shown anymore. They can’t find their favorite artist on the radio or any other form of media. And so obviously that concert promoter who showcased these artists is experiencing low attendance rates.

I’m going to stop here and continue onto Santa Barbara but the conclusions you can draw are clear and obvious.

Anyways, I happily returned to Santa Barbara and reconnected with this audience that I rarely see. And here we are at the Lobero Live Concert Series, which has been going on for 15 plus years. David, the Lobero’s executive director, was quite proud of their work at this venue. He also exuded a quiet confidence that his audience was happily awaiting my arrival. He was right.

These guys really liked our intermission program that featured all the AJ Hits, so to speak, and the new pieces that we’re introducing this season. I love intermission evenings, too. Things are much more relaxed and causal and inviting, giving me time to talk about the George Duke days in the Haight/Ashbury area and other little personal anecdotes.

My friend, DeAnna met with me backstage and brought some wonderful photos of the University of Iowa and “Bodda Bae” and Days of Our Lives. We took lots of pictures with VIPs and special guests and the wonderful & spirited Betty, a Lobero donor and supporter of the concert series. It was a great ending to a great night.

Thanks, Santa Barbara! This was a wonderful return. Let’s do it again real soon!

Love,

Al

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Yountville, CA – Napa Valley 2015

Yountville, CA – Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway – June 2015

Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway…WOW! Now that’s a mouth full. Wow again, folks. I need to stop thinking of Brian Culbertson as the baby in the family. He’s produced and written over 20 popular singles and is in the process of producing his 14^th album. And now he’s hosting this annual weekend festival…and this is year number four! Here recently I’ve mentioned two or three musician/promoter concert and festival organizers. The new breed. The last time I talked about it was Alexander Zonjic (flute player and jazz radio DJ). Nobody’s getting rich. The promoters and administrators love and care about the music and they find sponsors who must be feeling the same way. I like to call them enlightened corporate people. Someday I’ll do an editorial article about that but the long and short is that people who listen to music are smiling and happy and these are good people in the community. That’s healing. And that’s good for corporations and all of us.

So we gathered at the Lincoln Theater, first time for me, and did a really varied and full evening of music with comedy. Tonight would feature comedian Alonzo Bodden, Raul Midon, Eric Marienthal, Brian Culbertson, and of course the Al Jarreau band.

Right!! Alonzo Bodden kicked things off with some funny stories and bits that I could not hear from my dressing room except for uproar of laughter and applause and screams. I love this combination of comedy and music, and I’d love to keep that tradition going.

I hope you’ll find Raul Midon if you haven’t already. He sings and plays guitar like a madman and is thoroughly captivating and entertaining. His vocal range is off the charts and the way he strums and picks and clacks on the body of the guitar completes the rhythmic feel of his song.

When we went on, it had the distinct feeling of first timing! Well certainly it was our first time in this theater, but it also felt as though I’ve never been with this Napa Valley audience before. It’s always wonderful when folks have heard of you and know basically of what you do and are truly anticipating the real live experience. And that’s what we had at Lincoln. And just now as a group we’re also experiencing a breath of fresh spring air attitude in the music as we play and sing.

What I mean is that every touring season is preceded by head and beard scratching question marks about what new and exciting additions you can make to the program of staples that are regulars and constants. I’m not going to mention these new additions now, but they are working so well that it’s making the band’s eyes light up. Those surprises worked great with our Napa Valley revival and new audience. (Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino; this is wine country and lots of vineyards have opened their gates and improvised stages to jazz music for twenty years. But Lincoln is a real theater construction performance venue).

Of course Brian joined me on stage and brought Eric Marienthal and Raul Midon with him. This oh so obvious kind of collaboration on stage during an evening of multiple performers almost always gets neglected and goes undone.

And at the end of the evening when we did a finale of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t you Worry”, and the audience singing along, it was everything you could have asked for and a bag of chips with a new pickle and a cherry on top J.

We had a wonderful meet and greet after the show with photos and well wishes right down front. Everyone shouting, “Let’s do it again next year!

It really was a great night! See you all in Santa Barbara!

Love,

Al

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Peachtree City, GA – The Fred Amphitheater – 2015

Fredrick “Freddy” Brown Jr. Amphitheater – Peachtree City, GA – 2015

We just spent a wonderful two nights and day in Peachtree City, GA at the Fredrick Brown amphitheater with 20 tables right down front with folks drinking anything too thin to chew and eating their favorite foods. And at the moment it’s Sunday morning and we’re on our way to the airport and heading home. Laughing and singing Charlie Daniels’ “Devil went down to Georgia”. We had a wonderful time. That’s always the case in Georgia. Usually Atlanta at Chastain Park but this time in a beautiful amphitheater with mostly people who’ve never been to a Jarreau concert. I love this phenomenon. We’ll be back to that in a minute.

Maybe I should have known all of this would unfold as it did because of a rare airplane experience for me. It’s quite common to be sitting in a section of the airplane where a person or two will recognize me. On the way here from home I sat down next to a guy in his 30s with whom I exchanged a nice “good morning” and we both began to settle in for the flight. I suppose that because of a comment or two from other passengers he inquired about what I do. So I gave him my quick little answer that I do music and I’m on my way to Atlanta for a concert. Pretty soon I’m answering questions about what music I do and verify my name, which he’s heard other people mentioning. He’s struggling a bit to make some sort of connections in his mind about the obscure little facts including the kind of music that I do and now he’s kind of getting it. So now comes the question, “Where you from?” When I said Milwaukee, his eyes lit up and a huge grin was on his face as he said, “I’m from Port Washington!” Which is just up the street from Milwaukee.  Man, we laughed like for two hours discussing everything from being cheese heads, Milwaukee breweries, Wisconsin Badgers fight song, and “oh ya you betcha”. Both of us saying it’s the best place in the world to grow up. His name was Jim and we promised to stay in touch. So all of this should have been the good omen that this weekend would be over the moon!  That was one of most wonderful airplane rides I’ve ever taken.

I don’t know maybe it did or did not predict what a wonderful time we would have in Georgia in a town 40 miles away from Atlanta. It doesn’t get any greener and summery than Georgia does between June and September. The trees and greenery seem to create and fill the air with their own moisture that always makes it feel like the back porch with lemonade and a fan (someone brought me one on stage!).

This was our tune up and rehearsal date for the summer tour and so we all arrived in the early afternoon to do a rehearsal of some new music. Hey, you kids in the back row. Be quiet and pay attention! This is what you have to do sometimes. This is how you maximize rehearsal time. It’s a little rough, but if you tack on a little extra rehearsal time to a normal sound check you can get a little more comfortable. It worked out great! …even though I was a little rusty on some songs that we haven’t played for awhile.

Sabrina Murtaugh opened the show in the singer/songwriter, Tracy Chapman-Ricky Havens, guitar strumming approach.  Sweet face and warm magnetic style with fire. Later on she told me she’s from Carolina and lives in Nashville now and this new audience was warm and liked her a lot. She said she has a quartet she performs with as well. I told her that I would love it if she didn’t lose her solo performing and mentioned getting a 16inch bass drum for her to use.

There were a few quick announcements after she finishes and they call my name and we hit the stage. I promise you there’s a freshness in the reaction and on the faces of people who are hearing and seeing me and my guys in what we do for the first time. There’s a lady a couple tables back who has her fingers squeezed together and intertwined and her eyes darting back and forth from one side of the stage to the other. Not everybody was like her but I knew and the band knew that these were new friends. I spent time on stage talking about making these new friends, and I should have mentioned that so many there last night were connected to the military. Anyway this won’t be the last time I mention standing up in front of new audiences…these days we get to Poland and Lithuania and Azerbaijan.

I sat on the stool down front, and though I felt conspicuous and self-conscious, the audience seemed to not notice until I made some comment about surgery last October. A new facet and “ah-ha” experience happened when someone from the audience shouted, “We Got By”. I look at Larry with a question mark and he touches the piano in a couple of ways that make me know where the key is and off we go…impromptu…and they know it. That’s what’s cool.

That was kind of the spirit of the evening. I won’t mention the exact new tunes that we did. I want it to be a surprise…we’ll be near you soon. But it all had the effect of really elevating the spirit and feeling in the band as we played old things in combination with new stuff and came off refreshed. I think we’re all looking forward to a return to Peachtree City and ex-mayor Fredrick Brown’s amphitheater.

Chris Walker’s wife was there, along with his sister-in-law and a cast of thousands, including a second sister-in-law who was pregnant nine years ago and hadn’t figured out a name yet for her soon to be born son. They looked at me with raised eyebrows and question marks and I said, “Of course, call him Zion.” He was there too. Icing on the cake was Fred Hielsberg from Ripon showing up. Class of 1961.

Ok folks. That’s it for now. I’m going to go home and jump in the studio with Melissa Manchester for an afternoon and then I’ll see you in Yountville!

Love,

Al

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A good piece from a good friend

Hi everyone,

Oh I’m just here sitting and thinking about stuff….Sometimes I come across radio shows, television programs, and articles that catch my eye because they have to do with the stuff of life. You know what I mean??!! Please go and catch up with Shannon West at Smooth Views. She’s a great journalist, writer, music lover, and citizen. Her writing and thinking echoes a lot of my own “stuff” about what’s happening here. I won’t try to summarize. Just trust me and have a fun read.

http://www.smoothviews.com/archives/perspectives/perspectivesAug12.htm

All the best,

Al

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Paris – International Jazz Day – 2015

Paris – International Jazz Day – 2015

Oh my God, y’all! I wish you could have been there sitting on my shoulder seeing what I saw and hearing what I was thinking because it seems so loud in my head. I have a special love for this lady, Paris that began at the beginning of my European career and before.

Before…has to do with the romance of the highest possibilites that a human being can soar to making the most of an eyelash and a whisper and which adores rain that turns the streets into a mirror of glistening color with a flower shop and a boy and a girl with an umbrella.

It rained in Paris as we joined up with UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute to celebrate International Jazz Day with 187 other countries doing the same on this same day…April 30^th, 2015. Dear me! I still can’t believe it. UNESCO and the United Nations! The United Nations and Jazz coming together with the Thelonious Monk Institute, with Herbie Hancock as the Chairman.

When American Jazzers went abroad and played this music that was born in America, they talked to an audience of people who’s freedoms were being taken away. In one evening or matinee they saw life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—the pillars of democracy. The United Nations recognizes this fact in the contributions of jazz. And everyone knows that the mother and father of today’s music, such as Rock n Roll and Rhythm and Blues and Pop, came out of Jazz.

This year was the 4^th Annual International Jazz Day and how wonderful to have it happen in France. Fact is the French love jazz more than we do in the U.S. They turn it upside down and inside out and study it and swish it around in their mouths like fine wine and continue to have lots of places to hear and do jazz. And they have the oh-so-important smaller and intimate clubs that are just like the early days. This means that a lot of really average people are continuing to enjoy this truly creative and personal expression of art.

Music director and coordinator, John Beasley put together a hot band that included Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Terri Lynn Carrington, and Leigh Ritenour. Myself along with Femi Kuti, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Dhaser Yousseff, Annie Lennox, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hugh Masakela and others all got to showcase our talents on such a great stage. And there we were, a personification of the tradition at its best. 8 separate singers and horn players all playing for the first time with a band they had just met. None of this was lost on the audience who heard and applauded every nuance. This as a concept at all is jazz.

Herbie Hancock, our lead amb-jazzador, was elegant and fresh and personal in his spoken remarks and playing. His choice of John Lennon’s “Imagine” as our finale speaks volumes. This audience at the UNESCO auditorium breathed it all in and stood and applauded in appreciation.

The week in Paris also included some press interviews and a workshop with jazz appreciators at the Philharmonic of Paris, a spectacular facility that stopped me in my tracks on my way to the stage. The whole affair could almost be a watercolor painting with that boy and girl and the flower shop just across the street from the Philharmonic. I hope to be apart of next year’s celebration.

Auvoir,

Al

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Panama City, FL – 2015

Panama City – 2015

Oh what a night of wonderful music! This is one where it was an outdoor festival and it rained with umbrellas everywhere, only to stop and produce a rainbow right over the crowd. And believe it or not, it happened as I sang, “rain rain go away, come again another day.” This is the kind of concert that people will never forget. We sang together in the rain 10,000 strong. Us against the elements. “Day-o” was incredible. After the show was over, I went to the back of the venue and signed CDs and posters and T-shirts for what seemed to be 2 hours. People were laughing and hugging and telling me their favorite Al Jarreau stories. It felt like I could have been there for all of them. I guess I was in a way. I finished the night off with a quick video interview for a local radio station and it was onto the bus again to head back to Orlando.

Me??? I took the deepest breath that you can imagine and exhaled with a “thank you, Father”. I’m on my feet getting healed by the music. I don’t talk enough about gratitude. Remind me that it’s on my list.

I know this was short and sweet, but so was Panama City. Until next time…

Love,

Al

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