GEORGE DUKE
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
GEORGE DUKE
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George Duke was an accomplished keyboardist, producer, arranger, bandleader, and composer. He was successful in both popular music and jazz, and straddled both sides of that aisle for most of his career. Duke grew up in Marin City, California, and in high school played in his first jazz group. His early influences were Miles Davis, Les McCann, and Cal Tjader, all of whom played a role in the diversity of his composing, playing, and arranging. After graduating from high school, he attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and majored in trombone and composition with a minor in contrabass; he received his bachelor's degree in music in 1967. He continued his studies at San Francisco State University, where he earned a master's degree, and briefly taught at Merritt Junior College in Oakland. While in school, Duke was part of a house band at San Francisco's Half Note with Al Jarreau. The band backed some of the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon.
He also began his recording career in 1967 while still in school. His first recording, The George Duke Quartet, Presented by the Jazz Workshop, was released on Germany's Saba imprint, which later became MPS, a label he enjoyed a fruitful relationship with in the '70s. In 1969 Duke heard a record on the radio by French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and through his relationship with Pacific Jazz honcho Dick Bock he was able to make contact with Ponty; they eventually recorded The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio in 1969. The band played a slew of club gigs in the Bay Area, and at one such performance he was heard by audience members Frank Zappa and Cannonball Adderley. He was invited to join Zappa's Mothers of Invention and accepted, spending much of 1969 and 1970 with him. Duke then spent 1971-1972 as pianist with Cannonball Adderley's band, and then returned to Zappa from 1973-1975.
In 1975 he worked with Sonny Rollins and co-led a group with Billy Cobham. Throughout these years, Duke recorded six albums for MPS: Solus/The Inner Source, Faces in Reflection, I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry, Feel, The Aura Will Prevail, and Liberated Fantasies, all of which are now regarded as jazz and jazz-funk classics. Duke signed to CBS in late 1975 and released his first solo album for the imprint, From Me to You, in 1976, and began scandalizing jazz critics with his inclusion of funk, disco, and soul elements in his compositions, and in the array of musicians who performed with him. In 1978 he recorded his breakthrough, the crossover funk album Reach for It; it took him into the upper reaches of the pop charts, and moved his concert appearances from clubs to arenas. Follow the Rainbow and Brazilian Love Affair both landed in 1979 and ran up the charts as well.
By the late '70s he was also producing projects for jazz, pop, and Brazilian artists including Raul de Souza, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and A Taste of Honey, whose single "Sukiyaki" hit the top spot on the pop, adult contemporary, and R & B charts and went multi-platinum. Duke became a producer of note, going on to score hits with Jeffrey Osbourne ("Stay with Me Tonight," "On the Wings of Love") and Deniece Williams ("Let's Hear It for the Boy," "Do What You Feel"). After that, production played as large a role as making his own records -- during part of the '80s almost surpassing it. Duke produced a diverse range of projects -- including records by the Pointer Sisters, Barry Manilow, Smokey Robinson, Melissa Manchester, 101 North, George Howard, Gladys Knight, Najee, Take 6, Howard Hewett, Chanté Moore, Everette Harp, Rachelle Ferrell (his key collaborator in the early '90s), Gladys Knight, Keith Washington, Gary Valenciano, Johnny Gill, and Anita Baker -- in a wide range of styles. Many of these records charted highly.
Duke began the '80s with the first Clarke/Duke Project recording (with bassist Stanley Clarke) that netted his own number Top 20 crossover hit, "Sweet Baby" (number 19 Pop, number 6 R & B). He also released the solo works Dream On, Guardian of the Light, and Rendezvous as well as another Clarke/Duke Project album before leaving Epic for Elektra in 1984. There he recorded Thief in the Night, George Duke, and Night After Night. Duke's music delighted mainstream audiences and crossed over from pop to adult contemporary to the R & B charts effortlessly.
The '90s commenced for Duke with a third and final Clarke/Duke Project recording before he signed to Warner Bros. upon the courting of legendary label boss Mo Ostin. While his debut for the label, 1993's Snapshot, hit the charts because of its smash single "No Rhyme, No Reason" (sung by Ferrell), the biggest surprise for audiences came later, in 1995, with the release of The Muir Woods Suite. A large jazz concept work, it was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Duke playing keyboards, Clarke on bass, Chester Thompson on drums, and Paulinho Da Costa on percussion fronting a symphony orchestra. It was actually recorded in 1993, but Duke spent two years "fixing" the tracks before it was released in 1995; he later performed it numerous times in concert. Jazz critics who had long derided his pop success and wrote him off suddenly took notice again. Duke, however, was courting no one. In 1996 he released Illusions and nailed another single in the Top 40 with "Love Can Be So Cold." Some of the players and singers featured on the album included Ferrell, James Ingram, Joyce Kennedy, Mervin Warren, Marvin Winans, the Emotions, Lori Perry, and Everette Harp. Duke finished the decade with a string of albums for Warner including a second concept work, After Hours, before leaving the label after 2000's Cool.
Duke threw another change-up in 2002 with Face the Music, issued on BPM. He played mostly acoustic piano on the date -- something he hadn't done in years -- and used the same core band on the entire recording (another rarity). His main sidemen for the date were bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lil' John Roberts, and Jef Lee Johnson on guitar. Though there are other instruments and players, these men appear on every track. The album Duke was released in 2005, a hodgepodge of music he'd left off other projects. In 2006 he released In a Mellow Tone, a more traditional jazz album with Brian Bromberg on upright bass and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and the jazz critics took notice once again. Duke returned to jazz-funk and R & B for 2008's Dukey Treats, on Heads Up/Telarc, once more using singers and a slew of musicians. It was followed by Déjà Vu in 2010. In 2012, he produced Jeffrey Osborne's Time for Love album (released in 2013). During the sessions, Duke's wife of 40 years, Corine, died from complications due to cancer. After some time spent away from music in order to properly grieve, he entered the studio in early 2013, and recorded Dreamweaver, which was released in July of that year. Undergoing treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Duke passed away in a Los Angeles hospital the following month, just over a year after the passing of his wife. He was 67 years old.
-- Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
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01. The Second Time Around 02. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes 03. Days Of Wine And Roses |
04. Jeannine 05. Little Girl Blue 06. Secret Love |
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01. Funny Funk 02. Love 03. The Once Over 04. Feel 05. Cora Jobege |
06. Old Slippers 07. Theme From The Opera “Tzina” 08. Yana Aminah 09. Rashid 10. Statement |
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01. The Opening 02. Capricorn 03. Piano Solo No. 1 04. Piano Solo No. 2 05. Psychocomatic Dung |
06. Faces In Reflection No. 1 07. Maria Tres Filhos 08. North Beach 09. Da Somba 10. Faces In Reflection No. 2 |
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01. Dawn 02. For Love (I come your friend) 03. Foosh 04. Floop De Loop 05. Malibu |
06. Fools 07. Echidna’s Arf 08. Uncle Remus 09. The Aura |
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01. Chariot 02. Look Into Her Eyes 03. Sister Serene 04. That’s What She Said 05. Mashayu |
06. Rokkinrowl, I Don’t Know 07. Prepare Yourself 08. Giant Child Within Us – Ego 09. Someday 10. She Heard My Cry |
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01. Mr. McFreeze 02. Love Reborn 03. Excerpts From The Opera “Tzina” 04. Spock Gets Funky |
05. Pathways 06. Vulcan Mind Probe 07. The Dream Has Ended |
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01. Don’t Be Shy 02. Seeing You 03. Back To Where We Never Left 04. What The . . . 05. Tryin’ & Cryin’ |
06. I C’N Hear That 07. After The Love 08. Tzina 09. Liberated Fantasies |
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01. The Beginning 02. Lemme At It 03. Hot fire 04. Reach For It 05. Just For You 06. Omi |
07. Searchin’ My Mind 08. Watch Out Baby! 09. Diamonds 10. The End 11. Bring It On Home |
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01. From Me To You 02. Carry On 03. What Do They Really Fear? 04. ‘Scuse Me Miss 05. You And Me |
06. Broken Dreams 07. Up On It 08. Seasons 09. Down In It 10. Sing It |
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01. We Give Our Love 02. Morning Sun 03. Percussion Interlude 04. Dukey Stick 05. Starting Again 06. Yeah, We Going |
07. The Way I Feel 08. Movin’ On 09. Don’t Let Go 10. Preface 11. The Future |
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01. Look What You Find 02. Every Little Step I Take 03. Games 04. I Want You For Myself 05. In The Distance |
06. I Love You More 07. Dog-Man 08. Everybody’s Talking, Pt. 1 09. Pt. 1: The Alien Challenges The Stick 10. Pt. 2: The Alien Succumbs To The Stick |
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01. Party Down 02. Say That You Will 03. Funkin’ For The Thrill 04. Sunrise |
05. Festival 06. I Am For real 07. Straight From The Heart 08. Follow The Rainbow |
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01. Brazilian Love Affair 02. Summer Breezin’ 03. Cravo E Canela 04. Alone-6AM 05. Brazilian Sugar |
06. Sugar Loaf Mountain 07. Love Reborn 08. Up From The Sea It Arose 09. I Need You Now 10. Ao Que Vai Nascer |
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01. Wild Dog 02. Louie, Louie 03. Sweet Baby 04. I Just Want To Love You 05. Never Judge A Cover By Its Book |
06. Let’s Get Started 07. Winners 08. Touch And Go 09. Finding My Way |
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01. Shine On 02. You 03. Dream On 04. I Will Always Be Your Friend 05. Framed |
06. Ride On Love 07. Son Of Reach For It 08. Someday 09. Positive Energy 10. Let Your Love Shine |
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01. Overture 02. Light 03. Shane 04. Born To Love 05. Silly Fighting 06. You Are The Light 07. The War Fugue Interlude |
08. Reach Out 09. Give Me Your Love 10. Stand 11. Soon 12. Celebrate 13. Fly Away |
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01. Put It On The Line 02. Heroes 03. Try Me Baby 04. Every Reason To Smile 05. Great Danes |
06. The Good Times 07. You’re Gonna Love It 08. Trip You In Love 09. Atlanta |
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01. Got To Get Back To Love 02. Stay Awhile 03. Secret Rendezvous 04. Thinking Of You 05. Take It On |
06. She Can Wait Forever 07. Better Ways 08. Your Life 09. Ipanema Lady |
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01. Broken Glass 02. I Just Want To Be In Your Life 03. Good Friend 04. So Mean To Me 05. Stand With Your Man |
06. Island Girl 07. King For A Day 08. The Morning, You & Love 09. I Can Make It Better 10. African Violet |
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01. I Surrender 02. Thief In The Night 03. Remembering The Sixties 04. We’re Supposed To Have Fun 05. Ride |
06. Love Mission 07. Jam 08. Why 09. La La |
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01. Miss Wiggle 02. Children Of The Night 03. Love Ballad 04. Guilty 05. Same Old Love |
06. Say Hello 07. You Are The Only One In My Life 08. Brazilian Coffee 09. This Lovin’ 10. Mystery Eyes |
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01. From The Void (Intro) 02. History (I Remember) 03. Snapshot 04. No Rhyme, No Reason 05. 6 O’Clock 06. Ooh Baby 07. Fame |
08. Geneva 09. Speak Low 10. Keeping Love Alive 11. Until Sunrise 12. Bus Tours 13. In The Meantime 14. The Morning After |
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01. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 1 02. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 2 03. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 3 04. Muir Woods Suite: Percussion Solo 05. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 4 06. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 5 |
07. Muir Woods Suite: Bass Solo 08. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 6 (Love Theme) 09. Muir Woods Suite: Drum Solo 10. Muir Woods Suite: Phase 7 11. Muir Woods Suite: Montreaux Nights |
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01. A Duke Alone 02. Wild Dog 03. Silly Putty 04. Sweet Baby |
05. Blues 06. Let’s Boogie 07. Let’s get Started |
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01. Genesis 02. 500 Miles To Go 03. 411 04. Love Can Be So Cold 05. Illusions 06. The Simple Things 07. Life And Times |
08. Look What We Started Now 09. C’Est La Vie 10. Buffalo Soldiers 11. Money 12. No Greater Love 13. So I’ll Pretend |
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01. Into The Future 02. Is Love Enough? 03. It’s Summertime 04. Love Songs 05. It’s Our World 06. Fill The Need 07. Kinda Low 08. Time And Space |
09. Back In The Day 10. This Place I Call Home 11. How About You 12. Laid Back Sunday 13. Thinkin’ ‘Bout You 14. I’m Falling 15. Whatever Happened To . . . 16. Back From The Future |
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01. Rush Hour/Road Rage 02. After Dinner Drink 03. Anticipation 04. The Touch 05. It’s On 06. Together As One |
07. From Dusk To Dawn 08. Peace 09. Sweet Dreams 10. Wake Me Gently 11. My Bells |
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01. Marin City 02. Wake Up, Smell The Coffee 03. She’s Amazing 04. If You Will 05. Never Be Another 06. Ancient Source 07. Understand |
08. If He Ain’t Right, Then He’s Mr. Wrong 09. Sexy Cool 10. All About You 11. Whatever It Takes 12. The Times We’ve Known 13. At A Glance |
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01. The Black Messiah Pt. 2 02. Chillin’ 03. My Piano 04. Guess You’re Not The One 05. Let’s Roll |
06. Ain’t It Funky Now 07. Close To You 08. Another Way To Look At It 09. Creepin’ 10. Ten Mile Jog |
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01. Trust 02. I Wanna Know 03. Superwoman 04. No One 05. T-Jam 06. Somebody’s Body |
07. Sausalito 08. Saturday Night 09. In Between The Heartaches 10. Hybrids 11. Homeland |
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01. In A Mellow Tone 02. For All We Know 03. Never Will I Marry 04. Spring Is Here 05. Sweet Baby 06. Down the Road |
07. So Many Stars 08. So I’ll Pretend 09. Quiet Fire 10. Just Because 11. I Loves You Porgy |
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01. Everyday Hero 02. I Tried To Tell You 03. A Fonk Tail 04. Dukey Treats 05. Listen Baby 06. Mercy |
07. Somebody Laid It On Us 08. Creepin’ 09. Right On Time 10. Sudan 11. Are You Ready 12. Images Of Us |
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01. A Melody 02. You Touch My Brain 03. What Goes Around Comes Around 04. Bring My Joy 05. Ripple In Time |
06. Oh Really? 07. 6 O’Clock Revisited 08. Come To Me Now 09. Stupid Is As Stupid Does 10. Déjà vu |
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01. Dreamweaver 02. Stones Of Orion 03. Trippin’ 04. Ashtray 05. Missing You 06. Transition, Pt. 1: Change The World 07. Jazzmatazz |
08. Round The Way Girl 09. Transition, Pt. 2: Brown Sneakers 10. You Never Know 11. Ball & Chain 12. Burnt Sausage Jam 13. Happy Trails |
