Wow! Live At The Childe Harold by Al Jarreau
It’s fortunate enough that Wow! Live At The Childe Harold, a 1976 concert recording by Milwaukee native and internationally renowned jazz singer Al Jarreau, exists in audio form. It's unfortunate, however, that no video document of the show was recorded as it was broadcast on a freeform FM radio station from a tiny club in a converted Washington. D.C. Victorian townhouse.
But for those familiar with Jarreau, some of the missing visual elements can be easily imagined: a wide smile interspersed the rat-a-tat of his scatting, stuttering Porky Pig interpolation (!) and his mouth pursed into various shapes as he imitated the instruments not accompanying him on stage but integral to his often-frenzied flights of improvisational fancy. He doubtlessly gesticulated to his band to keep pace with the blissful energy he was generating from stage.
The date found Jarreau fresh from having recorded his second album. As had been his wont since abandoning the R&B of his first couple of hometown label 45s to focus on his true musical passion, he was out to stun an audience with invention and enthusiasm. An off night for Jarreau, who died in 2017, was likely a rare thing, but here, he seems especially focused and hungry. Amid his own compositions and a selection of the remakes, he treats his audience as friends and acolytes in a sort of musical service he conducts, speaking of “fellowship” and “breaking bread” (The Childe Harold began as a restaurant before introducing music).
His demeanor may hearken to his father’s background as a pastor, but Al acts as on behalf of his own singular sonic priesthood. At one point in Wow! he sings so ecstatically as to sound like Pentecostal tongues-speaking. In that kind of state, it should be no surprise that he was capable of wringing joy from a downcast James Taylor hit and imbuing playfulness into one of his own compositions that touches upon racial oppression and aspiration. Wow! is a reminder of the sad loss of a versatile talent. But it's easy to smile at the exuberance it preserves.
|
|
Get Wow! Live At The Childe Harold at Amazon here.
Paid link
