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