Hard-Working Jarreau Sees No Pause in His Hectic Life

The “hardest working man in show business”? That’s the way Al Jarreau’s press agents describe him. And, if his schedule of the last year or two is any indication, this may be one instance in which the PR is almost on target.

“I’ve been on the road virtually nonstop since last fall,” said Jarreau, who appears tonight through Saturday at the Greek Theatre. “In November we went to Europe to promote my new album, ‘Heart’s Horizon’; when we got back, we went right back on tour and we’ve pretty much been in motion ever since.”

But touring is only a part of the singer’s busy schedule. He’s also written and performed a song for Blake Edwards’ film “Skin Deep,” recorded a track for Joe Sample’s solo album, contributed a number to Spike Lee’s movie “Do the Right Thing,” sung the theme song for NBC’s “Murphy’s Law” and participated in a Jon Hendricks recording session.

No wonder Jarreau took a deep breath after going over the list. “Did I really do all that?” he said with a laugh.

Time and energy aside, the list is equally impressive for the range of work it includes. Jarreau has always been one of the most versatile performers on the American music scene, and he shows no signs of letting up.

“Nope, not at all,” he said. “Those songs are all the areas that are biologically, genetically Al Jarreau. From a sappy, syrupy, schmaltzy love ballad like ‘Moonlighting’ to the work I’m doing on the Hendricks album--with scat choruses on ‘Freddy the Freeloader’--to my own work, which includes broader things, as well as R&B; . . . that’s me.”

The trim and athletic singer’s pre-music background includes a brief flirtation with an athletic career and a far more serious involvement with education. After receiving a masters’ degree in psychology from the University of Iowa in the late ‘60s, he moved to San Francisco and a job as a rehabilitation counselor. But music beckoned; in 1968 he embraced it wholeheartedly, and it’s been a nonstop romance ever since.

Jarreau’s plans reveal little relief from his continuing musical whirligig. Typically, he’s got a plateful of items.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “that it might be time to do something that’s really musically tangential for my next album. It might be fun, instead of calling in my list of studio players, to find a group of people--special people, players whose names you’d recognize--and form a band for the purpose of doing an album and maybe a tour.

“It would be a huge undertaking, trying to coordinate something involving the lives of people who are really quite busy. But it’s a notion. Whether or not we can pull it off is another thing.”

That tempting thought out of the way, Jarreau turned to a second idea: “Another project to do is a straight-ahead jazz album. I’m not sure that this is the exact time for it, but at some point I think I owe a jazz record to me, and to the segment of my public that would really enjoy it.”

Then, without a pause, a third variation: “But then it’s been a long time since I’ve done a ‘live’ album, too. And something happens ‘live’ that is just not like anything else.”

Equally fascinating is a long-simmering Nat King Cole project.

“It began as an idea for a big-screen movie,” Jarreau explained. “That version fell apart, but we still keep talking about other ways to do it. One of the newer notions is the possibility of my doing a Nat Cole Broadway production--a kind of one-man thing. It’s just an idea, at the moment, but we have been talking with producers and directors, and it’s an idea I like a lot.”

The “hardest-working man in show business” paused for another deep breath. It was clear that his plans will continue to justify the accuracy of the label. But Jarreau really does seem to thrive on all the work.

“I believe,” he said, “that the energy source is there for us to tap into, and it’s a question of just setting your mind to do it. To me, it’s a matter of imaging and picturing--just the way Dwight Stones did when he stood there, imagining himself sailing over the high jump. Athletes are doing it every day, so it’s not especially esoteric--a lot of power comes from positive thinking, from imagining the directions that you want things to manifest in the future.”

If Jarreau’s list of accomplishments is any indication, imaging and picturing will play a large role in his future as well. At the heart of that process is the image and picture of a man who appears to be very content with where he is right now.

“My life is in pretty good order,” Jarreau mused. “Sure, I go through numbers every day, when things don’t work the way I’ve planned for them to work, or the way I want them to work. And when you’re involved with other people and their lives and what they’re doing, it makes for some unsettling moments from time to time.

“But by and large, it’s a good life. I’ll tell you the truth, every day I like to stand and look in the mirror and tell myself, ‘Hey, this is pretty sweet . . . pretty sweet.’ ”