Breakin' Away

The Artist

Al Jarreau was a Milwaukee-born vocalist whose fluid, elastic voice moved effortlessly between jazz, R&B, pop, and scat improvisation. Trained as a psychologist before committing to music full-time in his early thirties, he broke through in the mid-1970s with a live-wire performance style that used his voice as both instrument and rhythm section. By the early 1980s he had refined that virtuosity into a smoother, more radio-friendly polish without losing his jazz vocabulary. Breakin' Away arrived at the peak of that crossover moment, when Jarreau was becoming one of the few artists able to win Grammys in both jazz and pop categories in the same year. It stands as the commercial and creative high-water mark of his career.

The Album

Released in 1981 on Warner Bros., Breakin' Away was produced by Jay Graydon, one of the architects of the West Coast studio sound alongside collaborators like David Foster. The sessions leaned on Los Angeles' elite session players and a glossy, tightly arranged production style built around clean digital-era mixes, lush keyboards, and precision rhythm work. It became Jarreau's biggest hit, going platinum and winning Grammys for Best Male Pop Vocal and Best Male Jazz Vocal. Thematically, the record moves between grown-up romance, gratitude, and playful reinvention, using the smooth adult contemporary format as a vehicle for Jarreau's jazz instincts rather than a replacement for them.

Listen For

Vocal acrobatics as instrument. On "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo a La Turk," Jarreau turns Dave Brubeck's odd-metered jazz classic into a vocal showcase, scatting lines a horn section would normally play.

The Graydon studio gloss. Notice the crisp, pristine mix throughout: dry drums, bright electric pianos, and clean guitar tones that define early-80s L.A. session production.

Ballad restraint. On "We're in This Love Together," listen for how Jarreau pulls back rather than showing off, letting the melody carry the sentiment.

Rhythm section chemistry. Pay attention to the interplay between bass and drums on "Roof Garden," where the groove drives the arrangement into something closer to a dance track.

Old-school reverence. The closer, "Teach Me Tonight," reaches back to the Great American Songbook, reminding you Jarreau was always a jazz singer at heart.