Jarreau transferred to lower-altitude hospital

A helicopter ferried Grammy-award winning singer Al Jarreau from a hospital in the Alps to one in the French port of Marseille after he suffered breathing problems in the mountains that forced him to cancel several concerts, hospital authorities said Saturday.

Jarreau was conscious, in stable condition and in the cardiology unit of La Timone hospital in Marseille, the Marseille Hospital Authority said. He was expected to remain there for about a week for tests.

Jarreau's website said the singer had asked to be taken to the hospital Friday after he had trouble adjusting to the Alpine mountain altitude. He had experienced breathing problems and was for a time in intensive care.

Thursday's concert at a jazz festival in the French mountain town of Barcelonnette, in the southern Alps was cancelled in the middle of the 70-year-old's warmup routine.

Fatigue as well as the altitude may have played a role in Jarreau's health problems. The singer is on a lengthy overseas tour to Europe and Japan.

Jarreau, who started out in jazz before crossing over into pop and R&B, cancelled two shows in Germany and another in Azerbaijan in addition to the one in France. It was not immediately clear when he would sing again.

Jarreau is one of the few artists to have won Grammys in three separate categories: jazz, pop and R&B.