Solo Sensation: Singer Bobby McFerrin brings breezy style to Gallo

If you haven't heard from Bobby McFerrin since -- well -- that song, chances are you haven't been listening.

The 10-time Grammy winner is known worldwide for his innovative, often improvised and always imaginative vocal style. While many people instantly associate the 58-year-old musician with his ubiquitous and infectious 1988 hit, "Don't Worry Be Happy," McFerrin has maintained an accomplished career both as a singer, conductor and music educator over the past two decades.

McFerrin brings his one-man a cappella show to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Sunday.

The son of opera singers Robert McFerrin and Sara Copper (the former also was the first African-American to be a regular with the New York Metropolitan Opera), McFerrin has blazed his own trail in the musical world using only the sound of his voice.

With his four-octave vocal range, he has crossed borders in his music -- from jazz to folk, choral to a cappella, classical and beyond.

His recordings have sold more than 20 million copies and he has collaborated with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, the Vienna Philharmonic and Herbie Hancock.

As a conductor, he has worked the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Later this year, McFerrin's choral album, "Vocalbularies," will be released. Six years in the making, the project contains all original material and is intended for use by high school, college and a capella groups.

McFerrin spoke recently with The Bee from his Philadelphia home.

Q: What kind of show can people expect?

A: It's a solo concert, so just a man sitting on a chair, singing. That's about it. I don't plan anything out. My first piece is always improvised. I decide after that if I want to do tunes or just improvise more.

Q: On your Web site, you have a "Sing & Play With Bobby" section. Is crowd participation part of the experience?

A: Always, always, always. I like the sound of a few hundred voices singing together and I like being the recipient of it. So I always encourage them.

Q: You started out in music primarily as a pianist. How did the switch to singer happen?

A: Well, I always had a nagging suspicion that I wasn't a pianist. You really have to be convinced of something before you can do it well. One day when I was 27 years old, I decided to sing. The moment I made that decision, I knew I was a singer.

Q: When did you realize you could do more with your voice than just conventional singing?

A: I had to work at all that stuff. My first gigs were at piano bars. I sang tunes and had a tip jar. But I knew that was not where I wanted to stay. I didn't want to be a piano bar-type of entertainer. I started to imagine what I might do.

This whole idea of being on stage alone and doing solo voice was scary. I modeled my solo career after Keith Jarrett, the improvisational solo pianist.

It did take me time to convince myself it was something I could do. I was a bit frightened by it. I thought it was a financial failure and I couldn't support my family. But my wife was behind me all the way. It took me six years of

thinking about doing solo concerts to develop the confidence, stamina and technique.

Q: How did you develop your four-octave range and improvisational style?

A: I spent a lot of time taping and listening to my improvisations. I would make sure the house was empty because I didn't want anyone to hear me. I just start singing and listened to what I was doing.

I didn't listen to any singers at all for the first couple of years. I was afraid they'd make too much of an impression on my own technique. I'd listen to instrumentalists -- not to copy their sound but to get a sense of what a melodic instrument does in term of harmony.