Home » Jazz Musicians » George Duke

George Duke

George Duke was born in San Rafael, California, and reared in Marin City, a working class section of Marin County. When he was just four years old, his mother took him to see Duke Ellington in concert. "I don't remember it too well," says George, "but my mother told me I went crazy. I ran around saying 'Get me a piano, get me a piano!'" He began his piano studies at age seven, absorbing the roots of Black music in his local Baptist church. "That's where I first began to play funky. I really learned a lot about music from the church. I saw how music could trigger emotions in a cause-and-effect relationship."

By the age of sixteen, George had played with a number of high school jazz groups. He was heavily influenced by Miles Davis and the soul-jazz sound of Les McCann and Cal Tjader. Attending the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music and majoring in trombone and composition with a minor in contrabass, he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1967.

George and a young singer named Al Jarreau formed a group which became the house band at San Francisco's Half Note Club. "There was another club up the street called The Both/And and I worked there on Mondays with everybody from Letta Mbulu to Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon." George later received a Masters Degree in composition from San Francisco State University and briefly taught a course on Jazz And American Culture at Merritt Junior College in Oakland. It was about this time that George began to release a series of jazz LP's on the MPS label.

One night, on a local jazz station, George heard a record by the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. When he found out that Jean- Luc was coming to California to record, he sent a tape to Dick Bock at World-Pacific Records, along with a note saying "There is no other pianist for this guy but me."

The George Duke Trio which emerged from those sessions was soon burning a path of creative excitement through the jazz world. It included a major European tour and an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival. The group's first gig in a rock-oriented venue came in early 1969. "It was a club in Los Angeles called Thee Experience," George recalls. In attendance were Cannonball Adderly, Quincy Jones, Frank Zappa, and the unexpected presence of an electric, rather than acoustic, piano on-stage. The Ponty- Duke performance wowed the crowd, and ushered in the West Coast counterpart of the Eastern fusion revolution sparked by Miles Davis, The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report. Before '69 was out, George joined Frank Zappa (as he put together a new "Mothers Of Invention" lineup) and toured for an entire year.

Read more

Tags

4
Liner Notes

Jean-Luc Ponty: Individual Choice

Read "Jean-Luc Ponty: Individual Choice" reviewed by Peter Rubie


By 1982, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty had established an enviable reputation as a pioneer in jazz-rock and jazz fusion. He began as a young bebop player in the late 1950s with little interest in becoming another swing or gypsy style violinist. It was the “sheets of sound" music of John Coltrane that spoke loudest to him. By the early 1970s Ponty was recording and touring with rock composer Frank Zappa, and playing with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as ...

Album Review

Frank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo

Read "Waka/Wazoo" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


Il programma dela pubblicazione di inediti zappiani in occasione del loro cinquantesimo anniversario, iniziato con il box set The Hot Rats Session e proseguito con i cofanetti dedicati alle Mothers del 1970 e 1971 e alla colonna sonora del film 200 Motels, prosegue ora con quello che probabilmente è il titolo più atteso, da tempo annunciato e ora finalmente disponibile. Il nuovo cofanetto Waka/Wazoo contenente 4 CD di materiale inedito e un Blu-Ray celebra i 50 anni dalla pubblicazione di ...

Album Review

Frank Zappa: Zappa/Erie

Read "Zappa/Erie" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


La pubblicazione di inediti dall'apparentemente inesauribile archivio zappiano prosegue a un ritmo tale da mettere a dura prova anche i fans più incalliti, soprattutto considerando che quasi tutte le ultime uscite sono cofanetti con più dischi. Anche questo nuovissimo Zappa/Erie consiste di 6 CD alloggiati in una elegante confezione a libro formato LP, con 24 pagine di note e foto (una versione speciale deluxe limitata contiene anche un poster). Questa volta non si tratta di celebrare un ...

7
Profile

George Duke: The Master of the Game

Read "George Duke: The Master of the Game" reviewed by Jeff Winbush


[Editor's Note: The following piece was first published at AAJ contributor Jeff Winbush's The Domino Theory blog, and is reprinted here in tribute to George Duke, who passed away on August 5, 2013]I never caught George Duke live in concert. I never met the man in person. However, he did give me two hours of his extremely busy time to talk to me for a career-spanning interview. What came of it was the longest interview I had ever ...

5
Extended Analysis

George Duke: Dream Weaver

Read "George Duke: Dream Weaver" reviewed by Jeff Winbush


The end comes eventually for us all with only the time and method to be determined. Dream Weaver is an album constructed around death, loss, healing and moving on. George Duke lost his wife, Corine, in 2011 as well as guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, and vocalist Teena Marie who passed away in 2010 as she was collaborating with Duke on a jazz album.Despite the sense of loss and sorrow hanging over the recording, Dream Weaver is hardly a ...

15
Extended Analysis

The Complete Arista Albums Collection

Read "The Complete Arista Albums Collection" reviewed by John Kelman


When fusion first emerged in the late 1960s/early '70s with artists like trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin, the emphasis was on guitar and keyboard heavy lineups like Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra, with an equally strong predilection for the intensity and volume of rock and a kind of thundering funk that was different than the kind of music coming from R&B and soul artists like Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire. Parallel to ...

49
Album Review

George Duke: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection

Read "The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


The George Duke Band: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection compiles the six albums that keyboardist, bandleader, composer, arranger and producer George Duke released on Epic Records between 1977 and 1979, accompanied by extensive and reflective notes on each album personally written by Duke, who wrote, arranged and produced just about every track. As an instrumentalist, Duke strongly resembles one of his most famous employers, soul-jazz saxophonist and bandleader Cannonball Adderley: Duke plays in an enthusiastic and compelling ...

Read more articles
1

Recording

A New Duet Release By Dan Dean And George Duke

A New Duet Release By Dan Dean And George Duke

Source: Yakup Trana

Internationally recognized bassist Dan Dean has performed with the some of the finest musicians of our time, including B.B. King, Buddy DeFranco, Donny Hathaway, Tom Scott, Dave Grusin, Don Grusin, Ernie Watts, Freddie Hubbard and many others. One of his favorite collaborations of all was with the legendary pianist George Duke, and Seattle-based label Arena Jazz is proud to release for the first time their wonderful duo recording of Gershwin’s immortal “I Loves You Porgy”.  Dan says of his friend: “George ...

1

Recording

Al Jarreau To Honor The Legacy Of His Dear Friend George Duke

Al Jarreau To Honor The Legacy Of His Dear Friend George Duke

Source: Muse Media

MY OLD FRIEND: CELEBRATING GEORGE DUKE Domestic Release Scheduled for August 5, 2014 Includes Guest Artists Gerald Albright, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, Lalah Hathaway, Jeffrey Osborne, Kelly Price, Dr. John and More Plus a special performance by George Duke Los Angeles, CA: The world of music was forever changed in 2013 with the passing of legendary keyboardist, composer and producer George Duke. This year, Al Jarreau, famed vocalist and long-time friend of Duke, re-interprets some of Duke’s renowned catalog of ...

Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Remembering George Duke

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Remembering George Duke

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Today, we keep our usual St. Louis-centric format on pause for one more week to pay tribute to keyboardist George Duke, who died this past Monday, August 5 at age 67. Though Duke, a native Californian, had no direct personal connection to our town, he played many gigs here over the years, the last being two years ago at the Touhill with St. Louis' own David Sanborn and bassist Marcus Miller. And although it's not the usual practice here to ...

Event

George Duke Memorial Event at BB King Blues Club & Grill on August 10th

George Duke Memorial Event at BB King Blues Club & Grill on  August 10th

Source: Michael Ricci

To Music Fans Everywhere, It is with deep regret that we learned of the passing of our dear friend and brother, George Duke. George was a Grammy winning musician who knew no musical boundaries, whose style and talent continually redefined jazz, funk, pop and music in general. He was also one of music's great storytellers and never missed a chance to give an inside look to his music or life to anyone who would listen. Throughout his life and career, ...

Obituary

George Duke, jazz/funk keyboardist who collaborated with Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and Miles Davis, dead at 67

George Duke, jazz/funk keyboardist who collaborated with Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and Miles Davis, dead at 67

Source: Michael Ricci

Master musician bridged genres of jazz, R&B, funk and Brazilian music; Was sampled by likes of Daft Punk and Kanye West. George Duke, the master keyboardist who bridged the worlds of jazz, R&B, funk, and Brazilian music, died Monday at St John’s Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 67. No cause was given. Duke’s passing comes just over a year after the death of his wife, Corine, from cancer last July. The keyboardist dedicated his just-released album, DreamWeaver, to her ...

1

Obituary

Jazz icon George Duke dies at 67

Jazz icon George Duke dies at 67

Source: Michael Ricci

He pioneered the funk and R&B genres during his career of more than four decades. Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67. A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death. “The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father's friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming," said his son, Rashid ...

Event

Poncho Sanchez And Stanley Clarke / George Duke At High Point Festival Park

Poncho Sanchez And Stanley Clarke / George Duke At High Point Festival Park

Source: Alex Gomez

The Friends of John Coltrane will present the 2nd Annual John Coltrane International Jazz & Blues Festival on Saturday, September 1, 2012. The Premiere Jazz Event of the Triad will feature the reunion of two venerable jazz artists with Stanley Clarke, George Duke and the Clarke/Duke Project; a giant of Latin Jazz, Poncho Sanchez and Shemekia Copeland, an artist who takes the mantle from the blues legend, KoKo Taylor. The 2012 Festival will also boast a performance by an up ...

86

Recording

Sony Music's Popmarket.com Releases Complete Albums Collections By Jazz Masters Stanley Clarke & George Duke

Sony Music's Popmarket.com Releases Complete Albums Collections  By Jazz Masters Stanley Clarke & George Duke

Source: Michael Ricci

Stanley Clarke—The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection and The George Duke Band—The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection Both titles available for pre-order at Popmarket.com in advance of January 24, 2012, release date The Ultimate Jazz Festival continues as Sony Music's PopMarket.com presents Complete Albums Collections from the Epic Records archives by two of the greatest names in modern jazz—Stanley Clarke and George Duke. These box sets contain the most famous and successful albums in these artists' respective careers, nearly all ...

114

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: DMS with George Duke, Marcus Miller and David Sanborn, the Cunninghams, Tony Suggs, and More

Jazz This Week: DMS with George Duke, Marcus Miller and David Sanborn, the Cunninghams, Tony Suggs, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This weekend's most noteworthy jazz and creative music performances in St. Louis are united by an element of homecoming, as three locals who have made good in the wider world will be back in town to play for the home folks. Here's what's happening: On Friday, the vocal duo The Cunninghams return to St. Louis to perform at the Sheldon Concert Hall, presenting a mix of straight-ahead swinging jazz, Latin percussion, and a bit of exotica. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Don ...

134

Festival

San Jose Jazz Fest: Mavis, T. Shorty, George Duke, Ramsey Lewis

San Jose Jazz Fest: Mavis, T. Shorty, George Duke, Ramsey Lewis

Source: JamBase

FRIDAY AUGUST 12-SUNDAY AUGUST 12; PLAZA DE CESAR CHAVEZ PARK, SAN JOSE, CA San Jose Jazz continues its rich tradition of presenting some of today's most distinguished artists and hottest jazz upstarts at the 22nd San Jose Jazz Summer Fest from Friday, August 12 through Sunday, August 14, 2011 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park in downtown San Jose, CA. A premier summer destination for music lovers, concert-goers and families alike, the 22nd San Jose Jazz Summer Fest hosts 10 ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Over-nite Sensation...

Zappa Records
2023

buy

Zappa/Erie

Zappa Records
2022

buy

Waka/Wazoo

Zappa Records
2022

buy

Dreamweaver

JJ-Tracks
2013

buy

Brazilian Fusion

JJ-Tracks
2013

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.