Jazzman Jarreau disappoints loyal Jakarta fans<\/p>\n
By Dini Sari Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): During the third song of Al Jarreau's concert at
\nSenayan Stadium on Tuesday Feb. 21, my companions for the evening
\nwere heading away from the stage. While onstage Jarreau's
\nsignature scat-singing became more and more abstract, my
\ncompanions bid me farewell with a forlorn \"We're bored.\"<\/p>\n
At the risk of offending Jakarta's three thousand Al Jarreau
\nfans, as well as Al Jarreau himself, so was I.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was because the concert started late, past 9 p.m.,
\nand I was tired. Perhaps it was because the poor sound system,
\ncoupled with his band's over-the-top musical interpretations,
\nresulted in a production that pained the eardrums. Perhaps it was
\nbecause the more Jarreau became involved in his vocal
\ncalisthenics, the more removed the audience felt from the
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
It certainly was not due to any lack of familiarity with
\nJarreau's repertoire. Indonesians have long been one of Jarreau's
\nmost receptive and loyal audiences, and know Jarreau's songs
\nintimately. Furthermore, Jarreau's latest album, Tenderness, is
\nan accessible compilation of classic covers, ranging from Elton
\nJohn's Your Song to Gershwin's oft-interpreted Summertime. In
\ntheory, Jarreau's set is a pop gold mine.<\/p>\n
In my impressionable pre-teen years, I was fed, via my elder
\nbrothers' record collection, a steady diet of saccharine soul:
\nthe Commodores, the Jacksons, Earth Wind & Fire. Along with divas
\nStephanie Mills and Gloria Gaynor, Al Jarreau provided the
\nsoundtrack to my childhood. Such sentimental associations have
\nrendered Jarreau's earlier songs dear to me, despite his eventual
\ndeterioration into pop blandness. Hence my surprise, during the
\nconcert, of being able to find flaws not only in Jarreau's and
\nhis band's performance, but in the songs themselves.<\/p>\n
The set opened with the classic samba Mas que Nada, except it
\ndidn't sound like a samba at all. Instead of exuding soft rhythms
\nand subtle sensuality, as all good samba should, Jarreau's
\nversion was loud, frenetic, almost coarse.<\/p>\n
Jarreau had brought with him a large entourage of musicians
\nand backing vocalists. Yet there were no percussionists and no
\nhorn section. Without percussion, a synthesized samba sounds,
\nwell, synthetic. Correspondingly, Jarreau's next offering,
\nWaltzing in the Garden, was spiced up with synthesized horns.
\nWhat was supposed to be brass simply sounded crass.<\/p>\n
Even Jarreau's warm charm could not lift the music from its
\nhigh-trebled pitch. This year marks Jarreau's twentieth year in
\nthe music business, and by the way he works the audience, his
\nshowmanship shows. He has a good rapport with the crowd, dancing
\nand reaching out his hands to his fans. The audience, in turn,
\nloved him back, as much as during his first visit here in 1987.<\/p>\n
The fateful third song, during which my friends fled, was the
\ncover of Elton John's Your Song. I am not an Elton fan, but I
\nremember Your Song as being one of his most sensitive and tender
\nsongs. As Jarreau and his band delivered it, it was again loud
\nand frenetic, with the finale drumming crescendos being
\nparticularly grandiose. Jarreau may have sung it heartfelt like
\nElton, but the effect was lost in the drama.<\/p>\n
By the time Jarreau broke into Summertime, one of the most
\nsensuous songs ever written, the crowd was starting to yawn. A
\nflute accompaniment was faked on the synthesizer, to which my
\ncompanion said, \"This is giving my face wrinkles.\" Jarreau's
\nversion of Summertime was predictably unrecognizable, and
\nfeatured more scat than singing. As proven by Louis Armstrong and
\nBobby McFerrin, scat is an innovative vehicle for expression.
\nMcFerrin, however, gained notoriety for being able to mimic the
\nsounds of household appliances. It is not surprising, then, that
\nscat can seem like a special-effects production rather than
\nsinging. More importantly, scat loses its novelty quickly with
\nIndonesian audiences.<\/p>\n
What the crowd wanted was the hits. The next song, We're in
\nthis Love Together, halted the yawning and got the audience
\ndancing. The tune tickled even my cynical feet. Since I Fell for
\nYou, Jarreau's 1985 collaboration with Bob James and David
\nSanborn, was the next crowd-pleaser. Jarreau sang it slow and
\nsure, unleashing his still-silky singing voice, an instrument
\nwhich should be used more often. The lights were turned off
\nonstage, and, as usual of concerts, lighters flared-up across the
\nstadium. The couples in the audience milked the song for all it
\nwas worth, embracing and gyrating despite the conventions of
\nRamadhan. Although it was an impressive performance, I was glad
\nto see the song, and the couplings, end.<\/p>\n
The next three songs I was not familiar with, although, being
\nballads, the Indonesian audience loved them. Spain was finally
\nsung, delivering the crowd into lip-synching and some rather
\nembarrassing dance movements. Jazz's fusion popularity in
\nIndonesia must be due to its stadium-rock rhythms. Judging by the
\nnumber of ponytails and tight jeans in the audience, some closet
\nrock-dogs were abound. Spain has an awkward structure and timing,
\nbut that didn't stop the rock-dogs from jerking to the beat.<\/p>\n
The finale was the very popular Mornin'. It was fun, and the
\ncrowd danced. Jarreau left the stage, but of course he came back.<\/p>\n
As a nice surprise, the best-delivered piece of the set was
\nthe encore, a cover of the old blues classic See See Rider. The
\nmusicians, after all, were more rock than jazz, so this song
\nsuited their sensibilities. Jarreau also seemed less affected and
\nmore relaxed, swinging his hips and singing loudly. It was a
\nbuoyant conclusion to an otherwise sober evening.<\/p>\n
In his heyday, Jarreau was the top of the crop. He has won
\nfive Grammy awards for Jazz and Pop vocal performances, the most
\nrecent in 1992 as Best Rhythm & Blues male vocal performance for
\nhis twelfth album, Heaven and Earth. Jarreau claims the
\ndistinction of having won Grammy awards, as well as other musical
\nawards, for both the Jazz, Pop, and Rhythm & Blues categories.
\nHis crossover appeal has invited much criticism of selling-out,
\nbut Jarreau remains untouched by slander.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is good that Jarreau likes being a crossover,
\nbecause his best songs are those that are purely pop, such as
\nWe're in this Love Together, Mornin' and Breakin' Away. Looking
\nback to the early 1980s, no wonder that Jarreau was so successful
\nin Indonesia. He churned out formula tunes as light and catchy as
\nhis contemporaries, such as Lionel Richie.<\/p>\n
Similarly, no wonder I have such rose-tinted memories of
\nJarreau, as his songs provided the perfect backdrop to a carefree
\nchildhood. Unfortunately, those easy years are now over, and, in
\nthe wake of grunge-rock and darker days, Jarreau's songs now seem
\nsimple and fleeting.<\/p>",
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