Al Jarreau, Legendary Jazz Musician, Dead At 76

Legendary jazz musician Al Jarreau, a seven-time Grammy winner known for his unique and versatile vocal style that made him a treasured voice for multiple generations, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 76.

A statement posted to Jarreau's Facebook page says the singer died around 6 a.m. local time in Los Angeles. Jarreau had been hospitalized for exhaustion earlier this week. He was in the hospital with a few of his family and friends when he died.

In late January, Jarreau announced that he was not able to join a jazz cruise because he was feeling weak with a shortness of breath. On Feb. 8, an announcement on his Facebook page stated that he had been hospitalized in Los Angeles for exhaustion. His medical team had instructed him that he could not perform in any of his remaining 2017 concert dates, effectively announcing his retirement.

Jarreau's vocal style made him a unique voice in jazz. Born and raised in Milwaukee, he sang for fun in college, performing with a group called The Indigos during weekends and holidays. He graduated with a BS in psychology and later moved to San Francisco to start a career in rehabilitation counseling. It was in San Francisco that he discovered singing would become his life when he began performing at a small jazz club with a trio headed by George Duke.

He later made him way down to Los Angeles, performing in famed nightspots. He gained exposure on television in New York, appearing on shows like "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." He didn't sign his first record until 1975 when scouts from Warner Bros. saw him perform at the Bla Bla Cafe is Los Angeles.

He received his first Grammy in the U.S. in 1977, and he later found commercial success with hit singles like "We're In This Love Together." The song was from the album "Breakin' Away," for which he won two more Grammys. The Root notes Jarreau saw his album sales decline in the 1990s with advent of the r&b and hip hop scene, but he continued to tour and win awards. The Chicago Tribune called him "the voice of versatility."

“Al Jarreau may be the most technically gifted singer working in jazz-fusion today,” Stephen Holden, reviewing a 1981 concert, wrote in the New York Times. Of the evening’s performance, however, he continued: “Mr. Jarreau’s concert lacked the emotional range of great jazz. He is such a prodigious talent that the absence of even the slightest blues inflections kept his music from cutting deeply.”

He is survived by his wife Susan and his son Ryan. A small private service is planned for immediate family only. No public service is planned at this time.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, his family asks that donations are made to the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music.

Tributes poured in for the vocalist on Twitter:

Image Credit: Jasper via Flickr Creative Commons

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