Coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the son of a preacher
Al Jarreau (1940) learned his first singing skills in the church choir. While studying psychology he performed in a singing group and subsequently worked as a community worker for a short while. But a singing career was also appealing, and Jarreau soon made work of it. He first sang in a band with George Duke, recorded the album
We Got By in 1975 and really made his breakthrough with
Breakin’Away in 1981, including the colossal hit
Roof Garden. Over the years, success abounded for the singer with the elastic vocal chords. He received seven Grammy Awards and in 2013 was nominated again with his album
Live, together with the Metropole Orkest. In 2008 this crowd pleaser received a prestigious Dutch Edison Award for his complete oeuvre.
