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Al Jarreau | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore Al Jarreau through We Got By. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
Al Jarreau
Meet the artist
A vocalist whose flexible voice could act like a percussion instrument. Moving among jazz, soul and pop, he connected improvised scat with smooth melodies and reached a broad audience. Vowels, breath and consonants all become colours in his voice.
Lyrics flow into wordless improvisation and conversation with the rhythm section. A secure pulse keeps fast scat passages natural and songlike. Slower pieces reveal an intimate, conversational softness. His singing makes jazz improvisation feel like an immediate way to play with sound and communicate emotion.
Where to start listening
On We Got By, compare the lyrical melodies with moments when the voice acts like a rhythm instrument to hear his expressive range.
1975We Got By
Al Jarreau
A debut that foregrounds Al Jarreau's flexible voice and rhythmic imagination. Jazz phrasing meets soul and pop in an immediate introduction to his singing.
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