To Al: Where ever you may be don't let them play you the harp!use your "instrument" like you allways did, give that band your sound!
miss you
may "the voice" be with you
Wise(b)ass
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To Al: Where ever you may be don't let them play you the harp!use your "instrument" like you allways did, give that band your sound!
miss you
may "the voice" be with you
Wise(b)ass
So sad. Hearing his interpretation of Take 5 grabbed my attention as I was in a record store way back in the 70's.
Truly one of the masters of jazzy pop. A stylist at the top level.
Truly one of the masters of jazzy pop. A stylist at the top level.
I saw him with a touring jazz fest featuring George Duke, Roberta Flack, Joe Sample and David Sanborn. Everyone was great. But one guy was hugging everyone on stage and laughing and cutting up the whole time. It was Al. He lit up the stage with not only his talent but his soul. You could tell he was the "light" on that tour. He had George Duke in stitches the whole night.
He got ready to sing a song and halfway through the intro he stopped the band. He just yelled over the mic "Wait wait wait.....STOP!". (Waving his arms in the air like a crazy person) The band (perplexed of course) slowly came to a halt. Al called George Duke back on to the stage and walked him over to his piano. He said on the mic "George, do me a favor and take over for a minute. I GOTZ TUH GO PEE!!!!!" He dropped the mic and ran off the stage holding his bladder area and the band just about fell out laughing. They ripped a jam that blew our faces off. Then Al walked back out to a standing ovation. You know you have an audience eating out of your hands if you get a standing ovation for taking a piss!!!
He and Joe Sample did a couple of quiet pieces in the middle. The same piano that sounded bright and crystal clear with George Duke behind it suddenly sounded like it had cotton balls on the hammers (in a good way) with Joe Sample smoothing it out. And Al just did what he did. I get chills thinking about it.
One of my favorite concerts I have ever been to....and I'm a rock, blues, soul, funk guy.
Fly on you special soul. You left a mark on us.
He got ready to sing a song and halfway through the intro he stopped the band. He just yelled over the mic "Wait wait wait.....STOP!". (Waving his arms in the air like a crazy person) The band (perplexed of course) slowly came to a halt. Al called George Duke back on to the stage and walked him over to his piano. He said on the mic "George, do me a favor and take over for a minute. I GOTZ TUH GO PEE!!!!!" He dropped the mic and ran off the stage holding his bladder area and the band just about fell out laughing. They ripped a jam that blew our faces off. Then Al walked back out to a standing ovation. You know you have an audience eating out of your hands if you get a standing ovation for taking a piss!!!
He and Joe Sample did a couple of quiet pieces in the middle. The same piano that sounded bright and crystal clear with George Duke behind it suddenly sounded like it had cotton balls on the hammers (in a good way) with Joe Sample smoothing it out. And Al just did what he did. I get chills thinking about it.
One of my favorite concerts I have ever been to....and I'm a rock, blues, soul, funk guy.
Fly on you special soul. You left a mark on us.
Man, this was a really important record around our home...stayed in heavy rotation for 5 years or more.
Look at the child he was...the children we all were.
I haven't listened to much else since hearing the sad news.
I keep coming back to cut #6...
"Better Than Anything"...
Always liked his voice but the music was a little too "poppy" for me.
I once heard him do some straight-ahead jazz on the radio (remember the radio?) and loved it but could never find it in a music store back in the day. (I did buy one LP and didn't care for it.)
Can anyone recommend a recording of him performing some of his less commercial material?
Thanks!
I once heard him do some straight-ahead jazz on the radio (remember the radio?) and loved it but could never find it in a music store back in the day. (I did buy one LP and didn't care for it.)
Can anyone recommend a recording of him performing some of his less commercial material?
Thanks!
I was introduced to Brother Al via TV. A character on The White Shadow looking towards life after graduation was auditioning for a local band and used Better Than Anything and they named dropped Al Jarreau as in I am no Al Jarreau when he was being complemented. I got my copy of Look To The Rainbow on my next visit to the mall.
