Jazz icon Al Jarreau has died at 76.
The Grammy Award-winning musician, who would have turned 77 in March, passed away on Sunday morning according to TMZ.
The sad news emerges just days after Jarreau announced he was retiring from the road after being hospitalized for exhaustion earlier this month. Jarreau was treated for the condition at a Los Angeles hospital and was informed by medics that he wouldn’t be able to perform throughout 2017, so he made the decision to quit touring altogether.
In a statement, the singer’s manager, Joe Gordon, reveals the singer passed away while still being treated for exhaustion.
“He was in the hospital, kept comfortable by (son) Ryan, (wife) Susan, and a few of his family and friends,” the statement reads. “Ryan and Susan will hold a small, private (memorial) service at home, for immediate family only. No public service is planned yet, but I will inform you if that changes.”
“Ryan asks that no flowers or gifts are send (sic) to their home or office,” it continues. “Instead, if you are motivated to do so, please make a contribution to the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music, a wonderful organization which supports music opportunities, teachers, and scholarships for students in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin…”
Jarreau began his singing career while he was attending Ripon College in Wisconsin. After working as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco, California, he moved on to music full time and worked with acoustic guitarist Julio Martinez when he first started out.
Throughout his career, he appeared on U.S. TV shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In the 1970s, he released his debut album We Got By and went on to win seven Grammy Awards, including an accolade for writing the theme tune to the 1980s TV show Moonlighting. He was also featured on USA for Africa’s “We Are the World” charity single.
Jarreau took a hiatus from recording in the 1990s, but kept busy performing, appearing in the 1996 Broadway production of Grease. He was feted with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.
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