Post Description

Vocal jazz.

Prachtige opnames en kwaliteit.

It goes without saying that rediscovering Al Jarreau’s voice from the 80s brought me great joy. Back then, no one sang like him; he established a style that we, as music conservatory students, studied with great interest. Calling Al Jarreau a giant is an understatement—he spent his career moving between jazz, pop, and other musical styles, constantly captivating the same audience while drawing in new ones. This album is a newly unearthed live radio recording, discovered by Grammy®-nominated producer Zev Feldman, known as “The Jazz Detective.” It’s a treasure trove of 10 songs. Released as a limited edition two-vinyl set on November 29th for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event, and as a deluxe CD and digital download on December 6th, 2024, via Resonance Records, it captures a Jarreau in full evolution, mesmerizing an audience during a warm Saturday night in August at Washington, D.C.’s intimate and historic Childe Harrold Club. Accompanied by a trio led by his longtime collaborator Tom Canning on keyboards, Jarreau fervently demonstrates in this flawless recording why, in just two more years, he would become an international superstar.

The sound from that time is fully preserved, with deep, round bass and perfectly cleaned tracks that make sense even in digital format, thanks to the quality of the mixing. While the voice is slightly over-compressed—a known issue with Shure SM58 microphones—Al Jarreau’s wide vocal range ensures this flaw is barely noticeable.

What’s striking about this album is the sense of closeness to the singer—you can almost feel him right in front of you while listening. That was the magic of Al Jarreau, so connected to his audience, both through his voice and his gaze. As always with Resonance Records, this is a high-quality album and, in my view, a true collector’s item that belongs in our “Essential Albums” category.

Tracks:
01. Letter Perfect 
02. Rainbow in Your Eyes 
03. Fire and Rain 
04. Intro to Take Five 
05. Take Five 
06. Lock All the Gates 
07. Gimme That Wine 
08. Shiny Stockings 
09. Aladdin's Lamp 
10. You Don't See Me 
11. We Got By 

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPrhpu1M67Q