Al Jarreau

Al Jarreau stands alone as the sole vocalist ever to claim Grammy Awards across jazz, pop, and R&B. A masterful interpreter, he fused lyrical smoothness with his singular approach to vocalese. Emerging in the late 1960s, he captivated listeners through an energetic fusion of jazz balladry and inventive vocal techniques. Industry recognition arrived in the 1970s, when he released a run of widely praised crossover projects, among them the 1977 Grammy-winning live album Look to the Rainbow: Live in Europe. On that set he interpreted an array of stylistically diverse covers alongside his own expressive originals. Though his foundation remained jazz, he proved equally assured with folk, R&B, pop, and funk material. This versatility, together with his affable and optimistic stage presence, fueled major commercial breakthroughs throughout the 1980s and drew him further into polished pop productions, notably 1981’s Breakin’ Away, which earned him two additional Grammys. Beyond his solo work, Jarreau contributed to the historic USA for Africa: We Are the World charity album and reached a still wider public as singer and co-writer of the signature theme for the 1980s series Moonlighting. After a quieter period on record in the 1990s, he resumed steady activity in the 2000s. His eleventh Grammy arrived in 2007 for the track “God Bless the Child,” recorded with Jill Scott and George Benson and featured on Scott’s Collaborations; he also maintained a consistent flow of releases that frequently circled back to his jazz origins, culminating in the 2014 tribute My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 12, 1940, the son of a vicar, Jarreau first sang in church choirs. After earning a master’s degree in psychology he worked as a social worker, yet eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue performance. While employed as a rehabilitation counselor he began appearing in small West Coast clubs, including regular engagements with keyboardist George Duke’s trio. A mid-1960s LP appeared, but he remained largely unknown and did not return to the studio for another decade. Signing with Reprise, he resurfaced in 1975 with We Got By, earning praise for his refined vocalese and favorable comparisons to Billy Eckstine and Johnny Mathis.

Following 1976’s Glow he issued the two-disc live set Look to the Rainbow the next year, which climbed into the Top 50 on the U.S. album charts. Breakin’ Away in 1981 reached the Top Ten and yielded hits with “We’re in This Love Together” and the title track. After 1986’s L Is for Lover, produced by Nile Rodgers, Jarreau scored another success with the Moonlighting theme, though mainstream pop momentum declined; later albums such as 1992’s Heaven and Earth and 1994’s Tenderness found stronger adult-contemporary reception. Budget compilations and scattered originals appeared at decade’s end, yet original output slowed until he joined the Verve/GRP roster in 1998 and reunited with producer Tommy LiPuma, who had helmed the 1975 debut We Got By. The partnership revitalized Jarreau, resulting in three acclaimed albums: Tomorrow Today (2000), All I Got (2002), and Accentuate the Positive (2004). Givin’ It Up, a 2006 collaboration with George Benson, received three Grammy nominations, one for each of three separate tracks. Jarreau then released his first full-length holiday album, Christmas, in 2008 and, four years later, the live recording Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest: Live with the Dutch ensemble.

In 2014 he saluted longtime colleague George Duke on My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke, which included guest contributions from Gerald Albright, Lalah Hathaway, Jeffrey Osborne, Dianne Reeves, and others. An active performer well into his seventies, Jarreau was hospitalized in 2010 and postponed concerts, yet resumed touring afterward and stated that reports of serious health concerns had been overstated. In February 2017 his website announced that he had entered a Los Angeles hospital for exhaustion, was withdrawing from forthcoming tour dates, and would retire from live performance altogether. He passed away on the morning of February 12 at age 76, only hours before the start of the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.