GRAMMY-winning jazz singer/songwriter Al Jarreau recently participated in an installment of the GRAMMY Museum's the Drop series. Before an intimate audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater, Jarreau discussed his earliest memories of the late GRAMMY-winning jazz keyboardist George Duke and singing with Duke's trio in San Francisco in the '60s, among other topics. Jarreau also performed a brief set featuring "My Old Friend" from his latest album, My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke.

"George Duke and I go back to when we were both puppies in San Francisco," said Jarreau. "The only one who knows George longer than I know George is the preacher who baptized him and his mama."

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Jarreau first performed at local clubs in his hometown before relocating to San Francisco in the mid-'60s. He subsequently sang with Duke's trio before moving to Los Angeles where he performed at popular clubs such as Dino's, the Troubadour and the Bitter End West. In 1975 he signed with Warner Bros. Records, releasing his critically-acclaimed debut album, We Got By, which was followed by Glow (1976), Look To The Rainbow: Live In Europe (1977) and All Fly Home (1978). The latter two albums earned Jarreau his first career GRAMMYs for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

Jarreau's highest-charting album, 1981's Breakin' Away, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and garnered two GRAMMYs, including Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male for "Blue Rondo A La Turk." He took home his most recent GRAMMY for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his cover of "God Bless The Child" with Jill Scott, which is featured on 2006's Givin' It Up, a collaborative effort with GRAMMY winner George Benson.

Released in August, My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke features 10 tracks, including nine originally composed by Duke, who died in 2013. The album, which topped Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, features artists such as GRAMMY winners Lalah Hathaway ("Sweet Baby"), Dianne Reeves ("Someday") and Dr. John ("You Touch My Brain"), and GRAMMY nominees Gerald Albright ("My Old Friend") and Kelly Price ("No Rhyme, No Reason"), among others.

Jarreau is currently scheduled to perform select tour dates in Japan and the United States through December.  

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Donna Summer Nights (Nov. 1), Celebrating Rodney Dangerfield (Nov. 2), An Evening With Peter Yarrow And Noel Paul Stookey (Nov. 13), and An Evening With Richard Lewis (Nov. 19).