View basket “A Spirit Speaks” has been added to your basket. Ellington Al Jarreau & NDR Bigband SKU: ACTLP9060-1 Barcode: 0614427906014 29.00 £29.00 Genre: Jazz Label: ACT Released Date: 8th November 2024 Buying Format: 2LP Forthcoming Pre Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info Al Jarreau always said he sang Al Jarreau music, and he truly was one of a kind: his six GRAMMY awards and nineteen nominations as Best Vocalist cover no fewer than three categories – jazz, pop and R&B – in other words, musical genres didn’t really concern him. “Music may well fall into categories for other people, and I understand that,” he said, “but for me, if I like a song, I have to do it, and that’s that. If you come to my concerts, I sit on your shoulder and whisper in your ear. I open minds and walk through many doors.” This kind of rich, descriptive imagery evokes the flights of vocal fantasy which his singing was capable of at any moment. He could suddenly take a song in new and unexpected directions. He used to explain it thus: “If there is a backbone to what I do, it’s the jazz vernacular.” “I saw Al Jarreau for the first time in the Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1974 and was instantly hooked by his voice and his stage presence,” ACT founder Siggi Loch recalls. “The next day I went to see Mo Ostin, President of WEA, to convince him to sign him.” After encountering initial resistance, Loch was given the go-ahead and Jarreau’s debut album for WEA, ‘We Got By’, was released in 1975. ‘We Got By’ won the German Record Critics’ Award and his first German tour sold out large concert halls. Jarreau’s long association with NDR prompted Jörg Achim Keller, chief conductor of the NDR Bigband, to suggest a collaboration with the singer in 2016, “Doing a production with Al and Ellington’s music was something I had wanted to do since the early 2000’s,” he remembers. “Al’s reaction was very positive from the start.” Jörg prepared a list of some hundred Ellington titles and, as Jarreau later recalled, “We just went down the list, and it was a case of, ‘Oh, that one works for me,’ and ‘Let’s do this one as an old gut-bucket blues – what was important for me was to find myself inside the music and maybe make a different kind of statement about Ellington so people could hear the music in a different way from anything they had heard before.” In writing the charts, Jörg was careful to respect Jarreau’s approach to the material by giving him space. Tracks such as ‘I’m Beginning to See the Light’ or ‘I Got It Bad (and that Ain’t Good)’ also give the band’s soloists headroom to give of their very best. “These are highly evolved, intelligent soloists who can play with anybody in the world,” said Jarreau. “They’re pushing me, and I love the push, and they’re making me sound like a real singer!” Jarreau and the band toured the music during the latter part of 2016, “There was still some fine-tuning going on during the tour, from concert to concert,” Jörg added with a smile. “He loved doing those ballads – and each one had a different feel. ‘Come Sunday’ was very important to him, though. That chart was reworked twice before he was finally happy with it! On some songs, he went for a pure ballad style – ‘I Got It Bad (and that Ain’t Good),’ some tunes were put into a pop / R&B bag (‘Lush Life,’ ‘Come Sunday’) and he loved that ‘old gutbucket blues’ feel of ‘I Ain’t Got Nothing but the Blues.’” Looking back on those sessions and tour, Jörg says, “It was Al’s style and personality that held it all together. The whole thing was a true combination of Jarreau’s and Ellington’s musical mastery – it appealed to audiences all over Europe, they loved the programme.” This feeling is echoed by Siggi Loch, who caught Jarreau with the NDR Bigband in Paris, “It was obvious that he really enjoyed performing this music and he did it with so much energy and emotion, it was a joy to see and hear. Sadly, Al was to pass away only a few months later.” In many ways, ‘Ellington’ closes a circle: it feels very right that Jarreau’s final album should be released on ACT, the label founded by Siggi Loch, whose strong and unwavering advocacy for the singer originally set him on the road to superstardom. And the fact that it was recorded by broadcaster NDR and their in-house big band is a fitting reminder that this was the very broadcaster whose TV programme had once made Jarreau famous in Germany overnight. Furthermore, just like ‘Look to the Rainbow’ which was Jarreau’s international breakthrough album, ‘Ellington’ was also recorded live. Sometimes there are threads of connection between events which at first appear to be unrelated, and the result turns out to be not just special and magical, but also meaningful and deeply affecting. It certainly has done here. Artist Al Jarreau & NDR Bigband Genre Jazz Label ACT Buying Options 2LP Format 2LP Condition New Country UK Track Listings Drop Me off in Harlem I Let a Song Go out of My Heart Lush Life Come Sunday In a Mellow Tone Take the 'A' Train I'm Beginning to See the Light Sophisticated Lady Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues I Got It Bad Satin Doll Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Jazz View Product Quick View Antonio Carlos Jobim The Composer of Desafinado Plays Jazz | Verve | 180g, 1LP Released 22nd February 2019 £15.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Antonio Carlos Jobim The Composer of Desafinado Plays £15.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Verve SKU: 7708968 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 22nd February 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Thelonious Monk It’s Monk’s Time Jazz | Speakers Corner | 180g, 1LP Released 30th July 2012 £34.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Thelonious Monk It’s Monk’s Time £34.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Speakers Corner SKU: CS8984 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 30th July 2012 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Ella Fitzgerald Lullabies of Birdland Jazz | Music On Vinyl | 180g, 1LP Released 18th February 2013 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Ella Fitzgerald Lullabies of Birdland £22.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Music On Vinyl SKU: MOVLP708 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 18th February 2013 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Santana, Carlos - McLaughlin, John Love Devotion Surrender Jazz | Mobile Fidelity | 180g, 1LP Released 27th August 2024 £46.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Santana, Carlos - McLaughlin, John Love Devotion Surrender £46.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Mobile Fidelity SKU: LMF1536 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 27th August 2024 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Jackie McLean 4 5 and 6 Jazz | Concord | 180g, 1LP, Includes Download Code Released 19th May 2014 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Jackie McLean 4 5 and 6 £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Concord SKU: 7235119 Formats: 180g, 1LP, Includes Download Code Released Date: 19th May 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Clark Terry Quartet & Thelonious Monk In Orbit (Original Jazz Classics Series) Jazz | Craft Recordings | 180g, 1LP Released 30th August 2024 £36.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Clark Terry Quartet & Thelonious Monk In Orbit (Original Jazz Classics Series) £36.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Craft Recordings SKU: CR723 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 30th August 2024 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View John Coltrane Standard Coltrane Jazz | Craft Recordings | 1LP Released 8th December 2023 £26.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations John Coltrane Standard Coltrane £26.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Craft Recordings SKU: 7235121 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 8th December 2023 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket View Product Quick View Blue Mitchell Step Lightly Jazz | Blue Note | 1LP Released 2nd March 2011 £13.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Blue Mitchell Step Lightly £13.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: LT1082 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 2nd March 2011 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Courtney Pine Journey To The Urge Within Jazz | Analogue October Records | 180g, 1LP Released 6th October 2023 £28.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations Courtney Pine Journey To The Urge Within £28.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Analogue October Records SKU: AOR001 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 6th October 2023 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket View Product Quick View Tony Coe & John Horler Dancing in the Dark Jazz | Gearbox | 1LP Released 13th August 2021 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Tony Coe & John Horler Dancing in the Dark £19.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Gearbox SKU: GB1567 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 13th August 2021 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders See more in Jazz Start again
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