JazzNights: Al Jarreau

This extraordinary man’s voice is almost a universe of its own; his talents as an entertainer appear to be boundless. No one asks him any more whether he sings jazz – it’s clear for all: he’s just Al Jarreau.

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There is something unreal about the situation: it’s January 2016 and the 18 musicians that make up the NDR Big Band are in the studio playing jazz. There among them – yes, it’s only fair to say it – sits an old man like a king. But there is nothing grey about him; with headphones over his ears, he sits there with a beaming smile on his face. He sings. He scats. New ideas coming to him all the time. Al Jarreau is back in Hamburg, the city that made him famous across Germany 37 years ago.

Jarreau has clearly fallen for an idea by Jörg Achim Keller, Director of the NDR Big Band, who suggested Jarreau set the legendary Duke Ellington Songbook to music. »He had this idea,« says Jarreau, who will soon be celebrating his 76th birthday, »that an Ellington programme with me could be something quite special – and he was right. I’ve already been singing songs from the Ellington repertoire for a very long time, just not with a big band. The arrangements create a mix of Jarreau and the qualities of the NDR Big Band, resulting in something brand new.« Sounds like a rather cheap advertising slogan. But the music delivers exactly what Jarreau promises. Ellington 2.0, you might say.