The following selection is from Never Givin’ Up: The Life and Music of Al Jarreau, which will be released this fall by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. From his earliest days singing in the 1940s until his death in 2017, Al Jarreau defied categorization. Growing up as part of a musical family in Milwaukee, he developed what would become a lifelong belief in the healing power of music. He established himself as a working musician during his student years at Ripon College and the University of Iowa and, also, in nightspots in Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After being signed by Warner Bros. Records in 1975, he went on to smash music industry stereotypes as the first artist to win Grammy Awards in three genres: jazz, pop, and R&B. In this excerpt, author Kurt Dietrich describes the early days of Al Jarreau’s career in Milwaukee alongside the people who helped him stake his claim in the music industry.
Al had a performing career in Milwaukee, both during and after his time as a student at Ripon College. A significant part of that career was intertwined with Lazlo “Les” Czimber, the Hungarian-born jazz pianist in the house trio at the Driftwood Lounge on Capitol Drive, right across the street from the WTMJ radio and television building. The Driftwood was run by two young entrepreneurs, Abe Totah and Bill Gillan. After Czimber landed the Driftwood engagement, around 1959, he remembered a young singer arriving
