George Duke
George Duke (born January 12, 1946 in San Rafael , California , † August 5, 2013 in Los Angeles ) was an American musician ( keyboardist , singer , arranger ) and producer of fusion jazz .
Life
During his bachelor's degree (trombone, composition, double bass) he played with Al Jarreau in the house band of the Half Note Club in San Francisco , which accompanied guest soloists such as Sonny Rollins , Dexter Gordon and Letta Mbulu . From 1967 he completed his composition studies at San Francisco State University . During this time he led a trio with which he accompanied the vocal group Third Wave or soloists such as Dizzy Gillespie , Bobby Hutcherson and Jean-Luc Ponty and performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1969 . In 1970 he was a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and also worked as a keyboardist on Ponty's album King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa . In 1971 and 1972, Cannonball Adderley brought him to his quintet, in which he also appeared on several LPs. From 1973 until 1975 he played again (with short interruptions) with Frank Zappa; he also played a few albums for MPS . Then he ran a fusion band with Billy Cobham . He also worked with Stanley Clarke in the disco business.
He was active as a music producer since the second half of the 1970s. He got his start as a producer with the 1977 album Sweet Lucy by Raul de Souza , on which he played keyboards under the pseudonym Dawilli Gonga on three tracks. He worked for his cousin Dianne Reeves , the fusion drummer Billy Cobham and the singer Al Jarreau , among others . Since 2004 he has been running his own record label "BPM Records". BPM stands for "Big Piano Music". Duke saw the label's job as giving control of the music where it belongs: back into the hands of the musicians. Also in 2004 he wrote the soundtrack for Ernest R. Dickerson's crime film Never Die Alone .
His final production career includes an album of standards ( A Time for Love ) for R&B singer Jeffrey Osborne .
Duke died of leukemia at 67 .
Influences
The musical influences of Dukes are above all Miles Davis and the soul-jazz sound of Les McCann and Cal Tjader . But Duke was also heavily influenced by funk and soul music.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
jazz
|
|||
| 1974 | Feel | - |
US141 (6 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| 1975 | The Aura Will Prevail | - |
US111 (10 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| I Love the Blues, She Heard Me Cry | - |
US169 (6 weeks) US |
R&B36 (12 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1976 | Liberated Fantasies | - |
US190 (2 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| 1977 | From me to you | - |
US192 (3 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| Reach for It | - |
US25th  (24 weeks)US |
R&B4 (21 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1978 | Don't let go | - |
US39 (14 weeks) US |
R&B5 (18 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1979 | Follow the rainbow | - |
US56 (11 weeks) US |
R&B17 (11 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| Master of the Game | - |
US125 (11 weeks) US |
R&B18 (19 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1980 | A Brazilian Love Affair |
UK33 (4 weeks) UK |
US119 (9 weeks) US |
R&B40 (13 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1982 | Dream On | - |
US48 (12 weeks) US |
R&B17 (17 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1983 | Guardian of the Light | - |
US147 (7 weeks) US |
R&B46 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1985 | Thief in the night | - |
US183 (5 weeks) US |
R&B52 (6 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1986 | George Duke | - | - |
R&B56 (10 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1987 | Night after night | - | - |
R&B87 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1992 | Snapshot | - | - |
R&B36 (37 weeks) R&B |
jazz50 (1 week) jazz |
|
| 1995 | Illusions | - | - |
R&B33 (22 weeks) R&B |
jazz3 (32 weeks) jazz |
|
| 1997 | Is love enough | - | - |
R&B65 (7 weeks) R&B |
jazz4 (20 weeks) jazz |
|
| 1998 | After hours | - | - | - |
jazz8 (20 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2000 | Cool | - | - | - |
jazz11 (11 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2002 | Face the Music | - | - | - |
jazz7 (21 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2005 | Duke | - | - |
R&B76 (4 weeks) R&B |
jazz6 (26 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2006 | In a mellow tone | - | - | - |
jazz9 (8 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2008 | Dukey Treats | - |
US192 (1 week) US |
- |
jazz3 (20 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2010 | Déjà-vu | - | - | - |
jazz9 (15 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2013 | Dreamweaver | - |
US74 (2 weeks) US |
- |
jazz2 (39 weeks) jazz |
|
More studio albums
- 1970: Save the Country
- 1971: Solus
- 1973: The Inner Source
- 1974: Faces in Reflection
- 1976: The 1976 Solo Keyboard Album
- 1984: Rendezvous
Collaboration albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
jazz
|
|||
| 1976 | Live on Tour in Europe | - |
US99 (9 weeks) US |
- | - |
The Billy Cobham / George Duke Band
|
| 1981 | Clarke / Duke Project | - |
US33 (23 weeks) US |
R&B7 (27 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Stanley Clarke
|
| 1983 | Clarke / Duke Project 2 | - |
US146 (10 weeks) US |
R&B44 (11 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Stanley Clarke
|
| 1990 | 3 | - | - |
R&B52 (14 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Stanley Clarke
|
- 1966: George Duke Quartet Presented by the Jazz Workshop
- 1969: The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
jazz
|
|||
| 1993 | Muir Woods Suite | - | - | - |
jazz30 (4 weeks) jazz |
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
Dance
|
jazz
|
|||
| 1977 | Reach for It Reach for It |
- |
US54 (6 weeks) US |
R&B2 (17 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| 1978 | Dukey Stick Don't Let Go |
- | - |
R&B4 (19 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| Movin 'On Don't Let Go |
- | - |
R&B68 (4 weeks) R&B |
- | - | ||
| 1979 | I Want You for Myself Master of the Game |
- | - |
R&B23 (16 weeks) R&B |
Dance23 (18 weeks) Dance |
- |
with Lynn Davis
|
| Say That You Will Follow the Rainbow |
- | - |
R&B25 (15 weeks) R&B |
- | - | ||
| 1980 | Brazilian Love Affair A Brazilian Love Affair |
UK36 (6 weeks) UK |
- | - | - | - | |
| 1981 | Sweet Baby The Clarke / Duke Project |
- |
US19 (20 weeks) US |
R&B6 (19 weeks) R&B |
- | - |
with Stanley Clarke
|
| I Just Want to Love You The Clarke / Duke Project |
- | - |
R&B49 (8 weeks) R&B |
- | - |
with Stanley Clarke
|
|
| 1982 | Shine On Dream On |
- |
US41 (9 weeks) US |
R&B15 (14 weeks) R&B |
Dance36 (8 weeks) Dance |
- | |
| Ride on Love Dream On |
- | - |
R&B83 (3 weeks) R&B |
- | - | ||
| 1983 | Reach Out Guardian of the Light |
- | - |
R&B59 (9 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| Heroes The Clarke / Duke Project 2 |
- | - |
R&B37 (13 weeks) R&B |
- | - |
with Stanley Clarke
|
|
| 1985 | Thief in the Night Thief in the Night |
UK89 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B37 (11 weeks) R&B |
Dance21 (7 weeks) Dance |
- |
with Lynn Davis
|
| 1986 | Broken Glass George Duke |
- | - |
R&B57 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| Good friend George Duke |
- | - |
R&B60 (11 weeks) R&B |
- | - | ||
| 1990 | Lady The Clarke / Duke Project 3 |
- | - |
R&B68 (6 weeks) R&B |
- | - |
with Stanley Clarke
|
| 1992 | No Rhyme, No Reason Snapshot |
- | - |
R&B30 (23 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| 1995 | Love Can Be So Cold Illusions |
- | - |
R&B78 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | - | |
| 2010 | What Goes Around Comes Around Déjà Vu |
- | - | - | - |
jazz26 (8 weeks) jazz |
|
| 2013 | You Never Know Dreamweaver |
- | - | - | - |
jazz14 (15 weeks) jazz |
|
More singles
- 1975: Fools
- 1977: Scuse Me Miss
- 1977: Sing It
- 1977: You and Me
- 1978: The Way I Feel
- 1979: Every Little Step I Take
- 1979: Games
- 1979: Party Down
- 1979: I Am for Real (May the Funk Be with You)
- 1980: Pluck
- 1980: Summer Breezin '
- 1981: Finding My Way (with Stanley Clarke)
- 1982: I Will Always Be Your Friend
- 1982: Dream On
- 1983: You're The One
- 1983: Celebrate
- 1983: Born to Love You
- 1984: Secret Rendezvous
- 1985: I Surrender
- 1985: Love Mission
- 1989: Guilty
- 1989: Love Ballad
- 1992: 6 O'Clock
- 1992: Fame (with Chanté Moore, Deniece Williams , Howard Hewett , Jeffrey Osborne , Keith Washington, Lori Perry, Phil Perry, Philip Bailey , Rachelle Ferrell & Jim Gilstrap )
- 1995: Life and Times
- 1997: Is Love Enough?
- 2005: T-Jam
Guest Posts
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
R&B
|
jazz
|
|||
| 2006 | The Total Experience |
- |
jazz1 (28 weeks) jazz |
Boney James feat. George Duke
|
| 2008 | Whenever you're around |
R&B56 (20 weeks) R&B |
- |
Jill Scott feat. George Duke
|
| 2014 | Bring Me Joy |
- |
jazz5 (20 weeks) jazz |
Al Jarreau feat. George Duke
|
Video albums
- 2004: Live in Tokyo Japan 1983
- 2007: Live at Montreux 1997
Lexigraphic entry
- Wolf Kampmann (Ed.), With the assistance of Ekkehard Jost : Reclams Jazzlexikon . Reclam, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5 .
Web links
- Official website
- Obituary ( Michael Rüsenberg )
- George Duke in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- George Duke in the nndb (English)
- Memories of George Duke by Stanley Clarke
Individual evidence
- ↑ Death report (Radiofacts)
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Jeffrey-Osborne-A-Time-For-Love/release/4386255
- ↑ upi.com: Jazz musician George Duke dead at 67
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: UK US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Duke, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pianist, arranger and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 12, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Rafael , California, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th August 2013 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |