Faces of Milwaukee: Al Jarreau

Milwaukee-born musician Al Jarreau is the subject of today's portrait. Jarreau was born in 1940, the fifth of six children for a minister and a pianist in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He was immersed in music from a young age, singing with his family at church events, and with his mother at PTA meetings. He received a degree in Psychology at Ripon College, and a Masters in Vocational Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa. He relocated to San Francisco to work as a rehabilitation counselor and while there began performing with a Jazz trio lead by famed keyboardist and composer George Duke. After forming a duo with an acoustic guitarist, he became a major draw at a Sausalito club and decided to devote himself entirely to music.

After performing around LA clubs for several years, he was signed by Warner Bros Records in 1975 and released his debut album to critical acclaim. He has since released numerous gold and platinum certified albums, reaching #1 on the Billboard Jazz charts with three consecutive releases. Over his extensive career, he won seven Grammys for his vocal performances in Pop, Jazz, and R&B, the only other artist besides Michael Jackson to win in three separate categories, and was nominated an additional 12 times. Although several of his songs made the US Pop Charts, he is most well known outside of Jazz and R&B circles for his performance of the theme song to the popular television series Moonlighting, earning him one of his many Grammy nominations. He continued to perform and record with a variety of other musicians and as a solo artist until his death in 2017.

In addition to his rich singing voice, Jarreau was known as the "Acrobat of Scat" for his mastery of scat singing and vocal percussion. Check out this amazing performance from 1975 that demonstrates his incredible skill as a performer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhq7fSrXn0c