Category : diary

Detroit

Detroit Symphony Orchestra (D.S.O.)

Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. They are locally known by D.S.O. Sounds like a world famous rock group. Anyway, last night we were the D.S.O. and the Al Jarreau. D.S.O. and Al Jarreau created a new musical experience for everybody who knows Al Jarreau and the motor city Detroit from long ago. Me too!!! And what a night it was.

15 years ago when I first started doing this symphony orchestra program, I talked more at the website about this new wonderful venture. Excellent adventure into the world where my music meets the classical orchestra. Unfortunately and sadly the symphony orchestra in America is going away. And those who hang in there and survive are kind of sticking to their bread and butter, i.e. stuff like Bach and Beethoven. Other genres are extras.

Here we go! My rhythm section always comes with me to make sure that all the basic fundamentals are covered and insured. Larry Williams – synth and acoustic keyboards, Mark Simmons – drums and spiritual percussion. And Chris Walker on bass and background vocals. According to Moses and Hoyle, we started with an Overture, Medley (recognizable phrases) from 5 well known songs in my career: Boogie Down, We’re In This Love Together, Blue Rondo, Since I fell, Moonlighting. 2 all beef patties, special sauce, cheese, pickles on a sesame seed bun.

D.S.O. Al Jarreau. The real fun and inspiring part to me is to do all of these basically familiar old favorites with a full orchestra setting. Strings and horns, and timpani, and exotic percussion. And even a harpist. Every solo artist, Coltrane and Miles, Streisand and Pavarotti have adored the orchestra setting.

We’re back in a flash and effervescing away with, “Something’s Coming” with the west side story. Surprise?!? We throw in little bits and pieces of, “Maria,” “The Jets,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Be In America.”

Thanks for everything!

Share :

NDR Notes

I hope you’ll look up the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Big Band. In brief, they are an 18-piece big band jazz band that would make Basie, and Canton, and Ellington just laugh and clap their hands at how good the tradition they set is being carried on. And believe it or not, the band is 46 years old. Somewhere earlier I mentioned that they in fact solo as though they had been born in NY or New Orleans.

Going on, I didn’t realize that Joe’s new CD with the NDR, was a real concept project with songs designed around a central theme. The title of the album is, “The Children Of The Sun.” As Joe tells it, when he was in St. Croix, he came upon the ruins of the slaves quarters who worked the land, and made the rum, and harvested the sugar cane, and his eyes were glued to the endless blue sea surrounding the island. He was deeply touched by the realization that there was no escape from this island. No running away. The writers who wrote about this period referred to these children as, “children of the sun.” In a sort of blinding flash of light of understanding, we almost said together out loud, “Porgy and Bess were the children of the children of the sun, and what an amazing coincidence (it surely wasn’t on purpose) that my Porgy and Bess program, fit so perfectly with the Children Of The Sun.

We recorded a couple nights, and just maybe we’ve captured this wonderful coming together. Our hope is that we can bring this program to America. Ok thanks everybody I’ll see you next time.

Share :

Berlin

What a magnificent concert hall just to look at. Somehow the looseness in its design doesn’t feel boxy straight up and down and confined. There are interesting little sections like the balcony behind the orchestra stage with 200 people waving and shouting. This is also the pipe organ loft. And then this back balcony wraps around and you can look left or right and watch it flow into the front balcony.

Joe sample and I are checking all this out at sound check time and we look and talk about, “This is the last night, man.” 5 weeks flying for me. And so I thank the band for their beautiful arrangements and playing that made me be a new me.

We tumble and roll and slip sideways, silently through the square, and we’re gone….. and suddenly there’s me and Joe Sample, 3 hours later, with encores done in the front of the hall, signing C.D.’s and autographs.

What a trip!

Love, Al

Share :

Hannover

It’s raining again, again, again. And we have a pick up time at 3:30pm where we walk outside of the hotel, take a deep breath, and talk about how much this is like home. For me and Joe, Milwaukee. For my assistant Brian, Ohio. This is fall. This is autumn. Oops did I say that yesterday? We arrive at the concert hall, walk into the theatre and past the venue staff, and I whisper in my mind that, “I will see you in 10 hours, and I’ll be almost on my way home. Over the past 4 weeks, I and the NDR band have come together in a wonderful, brand new fashion. Especially because we are now doing this with Joe Sample. Children of the Sun… of the children of the children of the children of the sun. Who in fact are Porgy and Bess. Thank you George and Ira for your sensitivity. I’ve been coming Hannover for years. And people forget what time it is. These people come with photos and signatures. And it’s me. Yes it’s me.

Tomorrow will be my last day with NDR and Joe Sample. And all afternoon since sound check we’re doing photos, pictures, signatures, hello to Mom. Hello to Uncle Harry.

Tonight we figured out a way for me to be in the wings and not visible, but really, really close to the band as they play the Joe Sample segment of the evening. Even when I’m farther away than tonight, I’m blown away by these compositions, and how NDR owns it and jumps all over it… this is new stuff folks. And they are wearing it out at high level.

Hi Frank tonight you are 8 feet from me as you play your big baritone sax. Dan walks close and past me on his way to the front of the stage just like many times before on this tour. But it’s almost as though the Gods of music have forced us together in a cluster tonight… and we look at each other, straight into the eyes. And declare, “Wow, this has been some wonderful, cool stuff.”

Ask me about the new front of, “Summertime.” Ask me about the second verse of, “Oh Bess…” And the out-choruses of, “Oh Lord, I’m On My Way.” Definitely new territory for me vocally.

Someone will sit across from you, and say, “Wow I never knew.”

Hello my singer friend. You must be still and quiet and breathe deeply. And carry on. Thanks!

Share :

Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Wow I’m sitting here in Luxembourg having coffee. Today is a show day, and I’m doing vocal warm-ups, but Brian just walked in and read me my comments at the Wisconsin Travel Blog… just some memories of years past in Wisconsin for me. It took me away, and way back, and conjured up sights and sounds from years and years ago. For a moment, it was Christmas time. Have a look.

Cloudy, drizzly. Joe Turano, Brian, and I step out of the hotel at 3pm, and breathe in the misty cold and look at each other and smile and say, “this really feels good.” All 3 of us are Midwesterners who came to like ice skating… yes black folks like ice skating too.

Well, here we are in Luxembourg and before the day is finished, we have found ourselves saying, “How lucky and blessed we are to be able to bring this music across the face of the globe to people living in a way different country than us. This is the dream that any other artist, musician, juggler, painter, writer, preacher, priests has. It is to be able to take its heart to any place on the globe, and discover that people understand who he is, and realize this time together. And so it happened again.

We looked at each other and said that this is a powerful program that we’re doing! Do you know what? I haven’t been here for years. Have you. All of us silently admit, “No I haven’t.” And then we all conclude how great it is to have a program like this. That it’s opening doors for places that we haven’t been in years. Thanks!

Love, Al

Share :

Frankfurt

You pray that when you go to the Olympia in Paris, the Berlin symphony, or when you end up at the Frankfurt symphony, that you’re in good shape. The band is in good shape, because these are capital centers of music and this is not where you want things to break down.

They are very responsive crowds, and knowledgeable.

I’ve been here so many times that it’s impossible to distinguish differences… really. What I mostly remember is that one of the biggest American military bases, has been here, and the brigade, company, and generals always came to hear an American perform

Here I am again at a great concert hall in Deutschland, Frankfurt. And we’re sold out. The front row is so close that I can touch their hands, smell their perfume, and see their blue suede shoes.

I wish you could see the Alte Oper, which means Old Opera, which we are playing once again. Pavarotti, Placido, Jose Carreras, Cecilia Bartoli, and Joan Sutherland walked here and prayed here.

Do you remember that I said there are some places that are holy ground? And where you want to be your purest and cleanest and your most Godly self. When I am in Rome at Cappella Sistina… when I am in Paris at the Olympia… when I am in Chicago at the Chicago theatre… when I am in Virginia at Wolf Trap… when I am in Berlin at the Philharmonic you can be sure I did not sleep the night before. It’s called praying.

Anyway, Joe Sample hits the stage at 8 o’clock playing, “Buttermilk Sky.” His new composition from the “Children Of The Sun” album. It bubbles and bounces along, and announces a new method for Joe to express his creative output via the struggle of slaves on the island of St. Croix.

For 15 nights now, I’ve entered onto the stage talking about the Gershwin’s who understood the children of the children of the sun and called them Porgy and Bess. What a wonderful connection between musical themes. Hello?! I’m going to sing music they’ve never heard me sing before. I’m going to sing Porgy and Bess. Children of the children of the children of the sun.

And so I sing, “Summertime,” and, “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Got Plenty Of Nothing,” and I sing 2 songs to Bess in the character of Porgy. One of them is, “Bess You Is My Woman,” and the other one is, “Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess.” Inside of these songs I’ve become a new Al Jarreau. I don’t know what critics will say about this Al Jarreau… Porgy and Bess. But I will tell you that this is some of the best Al Jarreau that I know.

What a night in Frankfurt, Germany I am so proud of this coming together with Joe Sample and the NDR in one of the most important centers of art in the world. If you didn’t like it, that’s OK.

Joe and I signed and autographed tickets and CD’s for an hour. We laughed the whole time.

Love, Al

Share :