Category : diary

Maui – Joe Turano and I in high school

I hope and pray that this is the start of a “new thing” tradition in Maui, Hawaii. We made up some of the missed moments here by not only having a real good concert night but by arriving early and joining their community outreach effort and spending sometime with a group of high school performing art students. Amazing, more than half of them were theater students.

They were delightful. No other words are better to describe them. They had bright eyes, smiling faces, and expectant attitudes. Somebody must have told them that I taught Justin Timberlake all he knows because that’s how they welcomed me.

“What’s your name,” I said pointing to a young man to my left in the first row. He grinned and said, “John.” I said, “John for President!” Then I said, “And your name?” “Ok Ellie for congressman!” And Pete for Senator, and so forth because I trust you to make good decisions for my family and me. WHY? Because you are studying all about feelings, emotions, human joys, and yearnings that are all portrayed in the arts that you love and do, especially the young kids in theater. You are in the workshop of human sensitivities and emotions. It’s right there in the script. Then you understandingly express all of that in the lines that you say. These same sensitivities are written into the lyric of a song. If you are painting in oils or watercolors, you’re painting emotions that are coming directly from your soul and heart. The long and broad continuum is from pain and sadness to joy and happiness. These are the things you study in the arts. To many of our people in congress have DEAD sensitivities. They don’t know anything about Romeo and Juliet and could not sing you one love song. I don’t want those kinds of people making decisions for me whether universal health care for everyone is a good or bad thing! I don’t want those kinds of people making decisions for me whether we should make air and water polluters clean up their mess. We must have clean air and clean water. I trust you to make those kinds of decisions but you have come to have a sensitive heart. Please take your sensitivities to City Hall and Washington.

They got it! If you’re reading this, I hope you get it. And hear are the beauties of studying music, art, dance, and theater for students. Department of studies will tell you that 90% of people who read music will go onto college. Those are statistics that you can read. The arts are the workshops of human sensitivities. It’s called sensitivity training. In fact, in the 1960s social workers throughout California went to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur for weekends in sensitivity training. This was a direct effort by private and governmental helping professions to further open the sensitivities of its professionals. Interactive workshops and role-playing etc! I won’t go on, I hope you get the point. These kids got it.

Joe and I talked about other specifics of studying and playing, and Joe, my music director, was brilliant.

Amazing, we, Joe and I, discovered a new relationship between the two of us. I broke into “Summer Time” and Joe immediately heard the key and accompanied me as though we had done this a hundred times. I had so much fun that I found myself thinking and saying that we should make this a tradition at Baldwin High School and do it every year. Somewhere along the line I mentioned how this was like a commencement program and address.

Linda, the drama teacher and cheerleader, had been a student and now had returned as a teacher to that very same classroom and it was touching and heart warming to see how these students loved and adored this teacher. Chocked me up.

They came to the concert that next night and sang loud and cheered when I mentioned their school. It was obvious to all that a really poignant connection had been made. Of course the performance that night was magical and excellent.

Ok that’s it you guys. See you tomorrow night in Honolulu!

Love,
Al

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Jacksonville, FL Jazz Fest!

It’s the morning after The Jacksonville Jazz Festival and I have finally realized what a serious metropolis the city of Jacksonville is. University of North Florida, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville University…Reason enough for any kind of music at all, and perhaps especially jazz, to have a home sweet home here. AND I’ve got friends in Jacksonville who will be shaking their finger and fists at me for being so uninformed. I’ve been coming to this festival for many years, maybe in the neighborhood of 15, and in the touring mode of in-and-out and onto the next location, I missed the boat on Jacksonville. AND this is the home to Shannon West, one of the most respected music critics and reporters, and friends of jazz, in the last 15 years. Hi Ms. West, don’t stop!

The new location for the festival is down by the riverfront with walking streets and three beautiful bridges that cross over a river that shows the other side’s beautiful waterfront buildings. The concert grounds hold many thousands of people, with lots of them standing and walking about with a very big VIP section in front of the stage.

This setup is new for me. I did most of my dates at this concert in a mid-city local park. Even then it was sponsored by the City Council and was a free concert, but these days, as Mayor Alvin Brown explained, they have partnered with AARP. That is to say, it is impressively large and multi-formatted, with several stages up and down the same closed-off street. And lots of variety in the jazz!

Without a soundcheck, we hit the stage at 9:30. Without a soundcheck… This is always a challenging venture. But we all bite the bullet and deal with it. Glad to be able to do it at all. So on this night, I struggled through not hearing the band very well. But as a group, we’ve been doing this long enough for me to have a pretty good ‘working sense’ of what it sounds like. And so in that spirit, we all played well. This large audience was happenin’! By the time we went on, they had been there all afternoon and evening. And must have been sonic-ly exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, and tired, and maybe a little tipsy. But they greeted us strongly, stayed all night long, and grooved hard when we hit Roof Garden/Reach For It, the George Duke combination of our shared composition and his own huge R&B/Funk hit.

We all want to congratulate our promoter on the growth of this festival, and its great staff and volunteers, and how well it’s organized and run. Thanks for the introduction, Mayor Brown and DJ Dawn! See you next year… please!

Love, Al

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Jazz House Kids in Montclair, NJ

Melissa Walker, a really wonderful jazz singer and wife to Grammy-Winning Bassist Christian McBride, started an after-school jazz music program called Jazz House Kids. They’ve grown to have their own 3-room classroom and playing space. Their big band has won awards and these kids are as excited about playing jazz as 6 year olds at recess on the playground.

This is Melissa’s dream baby coming of age and starting to walk and run. It boggles my mind and drops my jaw. They have community business partners/sponsors who come to benefits and fundraiser concerts to clap loud and write checks to fund this wonderful school. They know it enriches their community when their own youngsters are learning and participating in healthy wholesome life-enriching activities that will benefit them as moms and dads and families and neighbors of these smart productive and SENSITIVE new minds.

The Arts are the workshops of sensitivity training and re/creation and re/creative activities that make joy and high morale.

We’re wired that way. After the joy and fun that a person/child feels of running and tumbling, something else more mature gets satisfied by making—creating something that comes from inside of oneself that wasn’t there before. Athletes do it in making a great play. And fourth graders do it when painting the winter-scape with grey skies and snow on bare branch trees, then out to recess, and skipping rope 100 times without tripping the rope.

Anyway, Christian and I did a combination afternoon rehearsal/master class with questions from Christian and the audience of students and teachers, and community colleagues and friends. There was a creative new twist that was so much fun for everybody—Me too! To questions about my music education, I responded about my classroom instruction being the church and my living room (where my older brothers sang very complex vocal quartet music), my school choir, high school, ¬¬jazz trio with vocalist situations. That is an example of very loose performance based learning situations. On the job training, etc. etc. In fact, as I think back, I always had a difficult time doing any kind of formal music study (my mother taught piano, not me). Perhaps because I’d gotten a bit spoiled with performing by second nature and therefore perhaps not wanting to be a beginning student.

As far as the afternoon’s banter, amazingly, we took the same approach that evening with the concert. Play some music and then chat back and forth. David Sanborn and I have shared the stage real often in our careers. We also shared “The Dream” and an era of music that was and is iconic in every important respect of art and culture. We could have talked all night. It’s good there was a time limit or we wouldn’t have heard the big band and Christian, which was, in fact, the main attraction, the reason why people came.

This whole approach was a spark of creative brilliance that put the oh-so-important donors and sponsors right in the middle of the process, to see the goals and results of their contributions. I think they got it, and will keep on helping to make the dream come true. You cannot miss or deny the sight of kids who are in school and motivated and happy and doing well in the three R’s, and who will very likely go on to college.

For me, the magical dream keeps unfolding with new records and new tours and new inspirations like this. I’ll return again if I’m asked, and in the meantime, I’ll admire that tenacious

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Austin, TX– One World Theater

I’ve been here too very precious few times in my career and have always felt a kind of loss at not having a more continuous relationship with this really special musical audience. So having this return to Austin just after an appearance here 3 years ago is truly satisfying for me. This is a university town, and as cosmopolitan as lots of big city schools, with people coming from all over the world. I love schools. And North Texas State, one of the great Jazz schools in the world, is just up the street.

Well, one of my heroes was my first keyboard player and writing partner in my band who joined me on my first record We Got By and first several tours, a young player named Tom Canning. He spent a lot of time in this neighborhood playing music and developing Jazz sensitivities and abilities. And he would tout about all the other music that was going on in the Texas area, including North Texas State, and with hometown hero Willie Nelson. In fact, first time we came to this neighborhood in the 70s, Tom said, “Look, man, all you have to do is mention Willie Nelson, and you’ll be an immediate success.” I think about that often, and in fact, hung out with Tom Canning just a few short weeks ago.

But this is the first time we’ve come to a fabulous little theater of 300 seats called “One World Theater.” Proprietor and Johnny on the Spot Promoter is Hartt Stearns, with his wife Nada, a real good singer herself, right by his side. Hartt also was and is a percussionist. When you realize that Hartt comes from music as a profession, you get a real clear picture of the love and special care that went into the creation of this special little jewel. 300 seats is not a lot of seats, but he had the nerve to envision a miniature-sized red velvet seat performing arts center-type venue. First row is sweating distance from the edge of the stage. This has the immediacy of being in a club-kind of setting. Just perfect for their Jazzy format. Chris Botti is here the night after me, and Kenny G on the way. He met us at the hotel in his personal van, and took us to do morning television. And then, he transported us to soundcheck and the evening’s performances.

We did two shows, one at 7 and one at 9:30, to the welcoming applause and excitement of an audience that welcomed us like we were long-awaited returning friends. And that was the case. They were attentive and alert. And as responsive as any group of “Jazz Enthusiasts” you’ll ever meet. When the guys soloed, they really heard from these people. Believe me, that pushes you on to higher ground. Quite often along the way, I would mention my numbers of years in the business, including me and George Duke, and our 1965 CD Live at The Half Note, and the audience’s appreciation for my own personal little marathon was really satisfying… Everyone knows I’m almost 50 years old.

When Larry switched from Keyboards to Flute, their hands seemed to be already out in front of them in pre-applause position. And when Joe Turano played his horn solos on tenor and soprano, and then doubled back to his keyboard setup, they knew they were getting something special. When John Calderon stopped his fiery electric guitar solos and picked up the acoustic, and walked to the front of the stage and sat down, and began to play classical acoustic, … It was ON. Superdrummer Mark Simmons made their hair blow back with his bass drum, and his hands quicker than a cat’s made them laugh and smile. You miss these things when you’re yards away. These days Chris Walker walks forward to where John had just been, and introduces some solo bass lines for Take 5. In these moments, I’m an observer, too, and get caught up in these very musical and charming theatrics. It’s a journey, it’s a trip—The scenery, the sounds, are lots of fun.

Almost as though the people leaving brushed elbows with and passed on their energy and delight to the newcomers, we played to just as enthusiastic an audience as the first show. Four rows back on the right side was a 10 or 12 year old grade-school girl who squirmed and laughed and applauded in delight. I was even more delighted. Maybe her folks play my music at home?!?! Maybe this was her first live music concert?! Maybe, maybe, maybe, etc. But there she was. Havin’ a great time, and won’t soon forget this night, and I hope she’ll be telling her friends at school about it.

For me to be able to see all of this in the light spilling off of the stage and into the audience with everyone in the audience close enough to see their smile was making me a bit giddy myself. I laughed and quipped and joked with them because it was obvious they were into it and gettin’ it. These days we’re closing the evening with a Roof Garden/Reach For It encore medley, and by then, everybody’s up dancin’. That’s the best.

I went out front and signed CDs, and took photos, and did a lot of huggin’. What a great night in Austin. I called them “Austin Strong”. Thank you. That was Oh-So-Satisfying.

-Al

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Stockton, CA

Stockton, CA… A Seaport town, would you believe that! I had no idea. Well there’s probably lots I don’t know about Stockton. But, it is also the home of The University of the Pacific, which is, in turn, home to the Dave Brubeck Institute. So David himself became an educator—more specifically a Jazz educator—and he deliberately set about taking his jazz music to campus. In fact, there is a record that’s called Jazz Goes to College. And so how appropriate the Brubeck Institute is on the Pacific campus where he went to school and where he met his wife Iola who passed just a few weeks ago. I heard him in my own campus’ little theater in 1961 at Ripon College, with the Dave Brubeck Quartet: Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, Gene Wright, and Dave.

This has to have marked the early stages of some Jazz educational notions that were surely part of his deliberate efforts to take this important American music form to the European continent itself. He was not alone in this. He had colleagues a few years older than he, like Basie and Ellington, Woody Herman, Kenton, Sarah, Ella, and others, who all led the way.

Perhaps the crowning venture in his educational outreach is The Brubeck Institute, since 2001, at his old alma mater, which was the College of the Pacific. It has begun to take its place right alongside Berkeley College of Music, North Texas State, University of Indiana, and Julliard as one of the great centers for Jazz education in America.

I have been on the board and letterhead at the Brubeck Institute for several years, but this was the first time I’ve actually been to visit and play at their 13 year old festival.

We sure got the royal treatment all day long at the Bob Hope Theatre, which hosts a lot of the performances for the festival. Simon Rowe, the director of the Institute, is so warm and gracious as to make you feel like you are visiting your own grade school. He was there for soundcheck and to introduce me and the band for our evening performance. A really lovely night was had by all, and the band and I ran the gamut of musical excursions, appropriately including a quite fresh version of Take Five-Blue Rondo a la Turk, and a two-song encore of “Put It Where You Want It” and “Roof Garden-Reach For It.” (The new Roof-Reach Medley is coming soon on the George Duke tribute album as well.)

Here’s a wonderful ‘parenthesis’ for you: Back in 1965 or so, a youthful George Duke produced and recorded a family of 5 girl singers called “The Third Wave”. They sang at one of the premier Bay Area Jazz clubs in Sausalito called The Trident. The town of Stockton has always had a sunshiney place in my mind because these five sisters ages 12 to 18 were from Stockton. Whenever I thought of them, with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, I thought of Stockton. (As a group, they were fabulous. Look ‘em up on YouTube.) So while driving from the airport, we called information, and found Josie, their mother. What a reunion on the phone. And when they came backstage at the concert, we were jumping up and down like kids on a school playground. And… We sang “Chloe,” a song from their record. That was a moment none of us will ever forget.

My record producer’s father and mother Bob and Marlene Burk popped in on us that night, and looked on with big eyes and accompanying grins. Thanks, John!

The next morning, we concluded our visit with a panel discussion that included me along with a great group: Grammy-winning drummer Terri Lynn Carrington; her piano player Helen Sung; my bass player Chris Walker; his instructor from high school, Dr. Morgan; and Simon Rowe, from the Brubeck Institute. In fact, not only Chris, but also both Helen and Simon were at one point students of Dr. Morgan. Amazing. We should have been on CSPAN with this discussion of the importance of arts in the school curriculum.

Well there you have it. The above and a wonderful list of bright fresh creative moments beginning last May have been highlighting this period of my life and stage of my career. It is refreshing and rejuvenating… And I’m Percolatin’, syncopatin’, celebratin’, elevatin’. “And coming soon to a theater near you!”

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London, and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, February 2014

Great Russell Street and Bloomsbury Street form an intersection just outside my window, that I saw every morning when I woke up and had my coffee. I’d do light warm-up scales and look at people walking into a currency exchange on one corner, and on the other corner a restaurant, but most of the people were walking to and from the British Museum, with its great broad paved terrace just a hundred yards away down Great Russell.

Nothing hectic here. It’s calm and casual with an occasional group of 15 or 20 school kids and a teacher leading the way and keeping “order”. This was a great way to start the day as I got ready to do a wonderful return to Ronnie Scott’s, where I first met my London and Great Britain audience, in 1977. I indeed have returned a couple of other times. In fact, the last time being just a year and a half ago, during the summer Olympics.

Surprise, surprise. This new occasion had all of us surprised and delighted with this quick return. As it turns out, there is a whole flock of London horn players who found inspiration in the sound of the Seawind Horns: Larry Williams, Jerry Hey, Kim Hutchcroft, Gary Grant and Bill Reichenbach. Tom Walsh, a London trumpet player in his early 20s, is one of those players, and he came up with the concept of performing the entire 1983 Jarreau album from top to bottom. They approached Ronnie Scott’s and pointed out that this album featured some of the great horn arrangements ever written. Tom got in touch with Larry Williams and Jerry Hey, and asked Larry if he would be interested in playing keys as part of the project. The idea was, Larry would fly to London, rehearse with the band, and play keys while a local singer sang down the album.

Well, of course, Larry is not only a founding member of Seawind, but he’s also the longest-standing member of my band. And when he heard about the local singer, he said, “Well hey, I know a pretty good singer.” And he asked me. And off I went to London to sing at Ronnie Scott’s and “to visit the Queen”.

We did three nights with two sets each night, and it was great fun to remind everybody that when they listened to Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, they were also listening to Larry Williams and Seawind Horns. And some of the greatest moments of Earth, Wind, and Fire happened because of these horn players.

I’ve sung at Wembley Arena with 10,000 people watching, and the Royal Albert Hall with 5, the Apollo, and Hyde Park. But this occasion at Ronnie’s was a wonderful peak of my London career, thus far. You could almost call it a return home, with lots of these people present for both my first visit in the 70s, and this most recent visit.

“The Whole Album: Top to Bottom!” That was the approach that we would take, and how this date was advertised. And I had to do some real serious studying of some very exacting vocals. Some songs, I had never even gotten to perform, since the day they were recorded in the studio. All of that study and preparation was wonderful and eye-opening, even if a bit daunting.

When those horn licks are being played right in your ear as you sing, you become super-conscious, as does the audience, of where these Selmer-made horns made the music become all that it was and is.

I’m certain that the most striking and outstanding characteristics and features about this occasion were the hearing and watching in a really intimate setting some songs that were real familiar, and incidentally being able to read the time on my watch, and hear me inhale, and then in a normal and totally audible tone, say, “Great solo,” to the guitarist. And you could experience it that way from anyplace in the room. Sooooooo, you can imagine the quiet intimacy of “Not Like This” and “Waltz for Debbie” or “Midnight Sun,” when the horns were silent.

Oh yes, and the “Right in your face” experience included peering down the throats and hearing the ushering sounds of two background singers. They were fantastic! A lady named Annabel Williams who was a beautiful taller than I am white chick. And a guy Tommy Blaize- he was going to sing my parts before they enlisted me to show up! They were really wonderful. I could see people’s eyes dart back and forth from me to them and back to me.

I’ve been doing symphony orchestra programs for 15 years, giving an expanded musical experience, which is quite rare for audiences. A similar form of that happened when we did the Metropole Orchestra performances and album. Another similar is the NDR (Nord Deutsche Rundfunk) Big Band/Al Jarreau Experience, which features Gershwin highlights. And now, there’s this wonderful new wrinkle: a Horn Band listen to the 1983 Jarreau album. And this one in itself is totally different from all the rest. I dream of taking it to a number of different UK locations. And why not Chicago and New Orleans?

Great Russell and Bloomsbury Streets, and Ronnie Scott’s on Frith Street… Thank you for one of the special trips of my life.

See you next time!
Al

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