Al Jarreau and the George Duke Trio to Perform in June at The Carolina Theatre in Durham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: January 7, 2010
CONTACT: Aaron Bare
919-560-3040 x224
aaron@carolinatheatre.org

Durham, N.C. - Music legend Al Jarreau, whose innovative musical expressions have made him one of the most exciting performers of our time, will appear with The George Duke Trio at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, 2010, at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, located at 309 W. Morgan Street in Downtown Durham. Tickets are $46, $39 and $40 for Star Members. VIP tickets are $95 and include a pre-show meet & greet. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 15. Tickets are available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.
  
Critically acclaimed musician Al Jarreau has earned five Grammy Awards in three categories (jazz, pop and R&B), scores of international music awards and accolades worldwide. Jarreau has been singing since the age of four, harmonizing with his brothers and performing solo at a variety of local events in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While attending Ripon College in Wisconsin, Jarreau continued singing for fun, performing locally with a group called The Indigos during weekends and holidays. After graduating he moved to the University of Iowa to earn his master's degree in vocational rehabilitation. Jarreau then relocated to San Francisco where he began performing with a trio headed by George Duke. He moved to Los Angeles and began his apprenticeship in such famed nightspots as Dino's, the Troubadour and the Bitter End West. He gained national network television exposure with Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, David Frost and Mike Douglas.

In 1977, Jarreau embarked on his first world tour, won his first American Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance and was singled out for special honors by readers and critics in Performance, Cashbox, Downbeat, Stereo Review and  other respected music publications. His album, All Fly Home, was released in 1978 to further accolades and a second Grammy for Best Jazz Vocalist. It was followed by a string of innovative and original offerings which brought him a broader audience and two more Grammy awards for Best Male Pop Vocalist and Best Male Jazz Vocalist. In 1987 he became a weekly guest in America's living rooms singing the Grammy nominated theme song for the hit television series Moonlighting.

The R&B smash "So Good" earned him another Grammy nomination, this time for Best R&B Album. After touring the globe for nearly two years, he returned to the studio - this time with Narada Michael Walden - to fashion the sound that would launch him into his third decade of music-making.  The result was 1992's Heaven and Earth for which he received his fifth Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
 
When George Duke was only four years old he was inspired to pursue music as a lifestyle after seeing a Duke Ellington concert. By the age of seven was studying piano, and by sixteen he was performing in high school jazz bands. While in college, he kept busy working in San Francisco jazz clubs, including The Both and The Half Note, where he was in the house band with singer Al Jarreau. By 1969 he formed The George Duke Trio with French electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The band toured Europe and the States, establishing their own unique niche in the burgeoning jazz fusion scene.

George Duke became a solo artist in 1976, and enjoyed success with a series of fusion-oriented LP's such as his debut CBS LP, From Me To You. In 1978, the funk-flavored sound of the gold album Reach For It propelled George Duke into the upper reaches of the charts, and from small clubs to large arenas. As the 1980s progressed, Duke's output steadily began to veer towards a more easy-listening form of jazz. Duke served as musical director for a wide variety of projects including charity events, television specials, political gatherings and festivals.  In the 1990s his solo work revisited his funk and jazz-fusion roots, as well as broadening to include orchestral works such as 1994's Muir Woods Suite. Duke's latest album, Dukey Treats, was released in 2008 and peaked at number three on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.
 
Al Jarreau with The George Duke Trio will perform at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. Tickets are $46, $39 and $40 for Star Members. VIP tickets are $95 and include a pre-show meet & greet. Tickets for Star Members are on sale now. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 15. Tickets are available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.

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About The Carolina Theatre of Durham

The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region.
 
Live performances at the Carolina Theatre are supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of North Carolina, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the A.J. Fletcher Performing Arts Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation.