Jarreau Puts New Life Into His Repertoire

Al Jarreau was singing the same old tunes at the Greek Theatre Sunday night. But he brought enough twists and improvisational mischief to his set to give even the most familiar numbers a wondrous freshness.

While established material might be just what you’d expect from a vocalist whose only album of the last two years is a recently released “Best of . . . “ collection, the treatment of that material, especially invigorated and playful, little resembled the original recordings.

Indeed, Jarreau spoke new life into his well-worn repertoire with a presentation that was particularly animated. It was as if he had taken Miles Davis’ often-quoted dictum--”Never play anything straight”--to heart.

The perfect example was his version of the Dave Brubeck hit penned by Paul Desmond, “Take Five,” a Jarreau performance staple since he first recorded it some 20 years ago. Seemingly responding to a call from the audience for the number, Jarreau raced through the lyric, which he wrote, to instead concentrate on the percussive effects and wordless rhythmic phrases that are his trademark, though here delivered with sly understatement.

The set’s highlight, Les McCann’s R&B; anthem of social comment “Compared to What,” is a recent addition to the Jarreau canon (newly recorded for inclusion on the “Best of . . . “ album), though a tune hardly unfamiliar to the audience. Jarreau left his imprint on the rousing number by introducing it with lines from Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and including some newly updated lyrics written by Jarreau and composer-keyboardist George Duke.

Jarreau seemed to enjoy himself immensely during the performance, frequently engaging the audience in call-and-response patterns between numbers while turning the introductions of his six-piece backing band into spontaneous songs. While the happy-go-lucky tenor of the performance made for a lot of fun, one waited in vain for Jarreau to put his versatile pipes to more serious use touching deeper emotions.

The most serious moments for Jarreau came before his set, when he joined opening act saxophonist Boney James to sing the inspirational number “I Still Dream” (as he does on James’ latest recording). Leaving high jinks aside, Jarreau sang with deep and serious passion.

Before James’ otherwise predictable set, the mostly a cappella vocal group Take 6 gave a harmonious performance of mostly devotional music that utilized many of the same instrumental and percussive voicings that Jarreau pioneered a generation ago.

* Al Jarreau appears at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, Saturday, 8 p.m. $30-$44. (714) 556-2787.