Grammy-award winning singer Al Jarreau was in intensive care in a French hospital after suffering breathing problems in the Alps, forcing him to cancel four concerts. Jarreau's manager, Joe Gordon, said Friday the 70-year-old singer “is awake and he's concerned” about missing concerts. When he said he wanted to eat, the doctors did a little dance, Gordon said. “He's only canceled one concert (due) to his health in his entire career,” Gordon, who was at Jarreau's side, told the AP in New York. But he also said, “It was life threatening” and “he's doing well, considering.” Gordon said the Thursday concert at a jazz festival in the French mountain town of Barcelonnette, in the southern Alps was canceled in the middle of his warmup routine. “We canceled the concert as a precaution because he wasn't feeling good,” the manager said. The director of the jazz festival, Xavier Fribourg, told The AP that Jarreau was evacuated by helicopter just before the start of the concert. A note on Jarreau's official website said the world-acclaimed singer was in “good spirits” and “looking forward to getting back out on the road.” The note said he would perform in Nuremberg, Germany, next Thursday as scheduled. The Grammy Award winner was conscious and breathing without assistance Friday but was still in intensive care receiving treatment for respiratory problems, said Maurice Marchetti, deputy director of the hospital. Marchetti said doctors weren't certain what went wrong, but they believe fatigue as well as the altitude may have played a role in Jarreau's health problems. Jarreau is one of the few artists to have won Grammys in three separate categories - jazz, pop and R and amp;B - like Michael Jackson.
