LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts) Grammy-winning jazz legend
George Duke has died at age 67. Duke passed away Monday night in Los Angeles. USA Today reports he was battling and being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
"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 Duke, in a statement. "Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support."
Biography:
George Duke (January 12, 1946 - August 5, 2013) was an American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He had worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty
Experience with the
George Duke Trio. He was known primarily for thirty-odd solo albums as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa.
Duke attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley before earning a bachelor's degree in trombone and composition with a minor in contrabass, from the San Francisco Conservatory in 1967.
Playing initially with friends from garages to local clubs, Duke quickly eased his way into session work, which refined his abilities and expanded his approach to music. (He later earned his Masters Degree in composition from San Francisco
State University. His website mentions a short stint teaching a course on Jazz And American Culture at Merritt
Junior College in Oakland).
Beginning in 1967 Duke experimented further with jazz fusion, playing and recording with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, as well as performing with the
Don Ellis Orchestra, and Cannonball Adderley's band, while he acquainted himself with the avant-garde musician Frank Zappa. Duke appeared on a number of Frank Zappa's albums in the early and mid-1970s, including Chunga's Revenge, 200 Motels, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Apostrophe, Over-Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury and Roxy & Elsewhere. 1992 Movie "Leap of Faith" Gospel songs and choir produced by
George Duke and choir master Edwin Hawkins. Duke's other high-profile collaborators include Al Jarreau, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Cannonball Adderley, his cousin Dianne Reeves, Deniece Williams, Jeffrey Osborne,
George Clinton, Anita Baker,
Regina Belle, Rachelle Ferrell, Chante Moore, Teena Marie,
Marilyn Scott and Mike Mainieri's jazz fusion group
Steps Ahead, for whom he produced the track "Magnetic Love." Duke played on Herb Ellis' album, Soft Shoe (Concord, 1974) with Harry Sweets Edison; Duke played the piano and organ.
He also served as a record producer and composer on two instrumental tracks on Miles Davis albums: "Backyard Ritual" (from Tutu, 1986) and "
Cobra" (from Amandla, 1989). He has also worked with a number of notable Brazilian musicians, including singer
Milton Nascimento, percussionist Airto Moreira and singer Flora Purim.
Sheila E appeared on Duke's late-1970s solo albums Don't Let Go and Master of the Game.
Duke had been fairly prominent in the R&B world, releasing funk-based songs like "Reach for It" and "Dukey Stick". In 1979 he traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where he recorded the album A Brazilian Love Affair, on which he employed singers Flora Purim and
Milton Nascimento and percussionist Airto Moreira. The album contained music in a wide assortment of genres, including some Latin jazz and jazz-influenced material. From a jazz standpoint, the album's most noteworthy songs include Nascimento's "Cravo e Canela," "Love Reborn," and "Up from the Sea It Arose and Ate Rio in One Swift Bite." The track "Brazilian Sugar" was featured on the 2006 video game Dead or Alive
Xtreme 2. Meanwhile, Nascimento's vocal on the ballad "Ao Que Vai Nascer" is an example of Brazilian pop at its most sensuous.
Duke has also worked as musical director at numerous large-scale musical events, including the
Nelson Mandela tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, London in 1988. In 1989, he temporarily replaced Marcus Miller as musical director of NBC's acclaimed late-night music performance program Sunday Night during its first season. Duke was also a judge for the second annual Independent
Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Duke was nominated for a Grammy as Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for After Hours in 1999.
Duke's songs have been used by a wide variety of contemporary musicians in a wide array of genres. These include: "I Love You More", sampled by house music-act
Daft Punk for their hit "
Digital Love"; "
Guilty", sampled by electronica music artist Mylo in his song "Guilty of Love" on Destroy Rock & Roll. "For Love", sampled by underground hip hop artist MF Doom on his track "I Hear Voices"; "
Someday", sampled by hip hop artist/producer
Kanye West for
Common in "
Break My Heart" on his "
Finding Forever" album; "You and Me", sampled and used by soul/rhythm and blues influenced hip hop-producer 9th Wonder for his collaboration album with Kaze for the track "Spirit Of '94" on the album
Spirit Of '94: Version 9.0; and "Reach for It", sampled by
Ice Cube in "True to the Game" on his Death Certificate album and Spice 1 in "In My Neighborhood" on his self-titled debut album, and sampled by W.C. & The Maad Circle (featuring
Mack 10 & Ice Cube) in "West Up" on their "Curb Servin'" album.
More recently, Duke worked with
Jill Scott on her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and
Sounds Vol. 3; guesting on the track, "Whenever You're Around". Since it was released it has peaked at No.56 on U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.
In the summer of 2011, he put together a trio with
David Sanborn and Marcus Miller for a tour across the US of more than 20 sold out shows.
By popular vote, Duke was inducted into The SoulMusic Hall Of Fame at SoulMusic.com in December 2012.
Duke died August 5, 2013 in Los Angeles from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 67 and is survived by his sons, Rasheed and John.
Discography
Clarke and Duke in concert
George Duke Quartet Presented by the Jazz Workshop 1 1966 MPS,SABA
The Jean-Luc Ponty
Experience with the
George Duke Trio 1969 Pacific Jazz
Save the Country 2 1970 Pickwick
Solus 3 1971 MPS,SABA
The Inner Source (2-LP) 1971 MPS/BASF
Faces in Reflection 1974 MPS/BASF
Feel 1974 MPS/BASF
The Aura Will Prevail 1974 MPS/BASF
I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry 1975 MPS/BASF
Liberated Fantasies 1976 MPS/BASF
The Billy Cobham -
George Duke Band 'Live' on Tour in
Europe 1976 Atlantic
The
Dream 4 1976 MPS/BASF
From Me to You 1977 Epic/CBS
Reach for It 1977 Epic/CBS
Don't Let Go 1978 Epic/CBS
Follow the
Rainbow 1979 Epic/CBS
Master of the Game 1979 Epic/CBS
Brazilian Love Affair 1980 Epic/CBS
Clarke/Duke Project 1981 Epic/CBS
Dream On 1982 Epic/CBS
Clarke/Duke Project 2 1983 Epic/CBS
Guardian of the Light 1983 Epic/CBS
Rendezvous 1984 Epic/CBS
Thief in the Night 1985 Elektra
George Duke 1986 Elektra
Night After Night 1989 Elektra
Clarke/Duke Project 3 1990 Epic/CBS
Snapshot 1992 Warner Bros.
Muir Woods Suite 5 1993 Warner Bros.
Illusions 1995 Warner Bros.
Is Love Enough 1997 Warner Bros.
After Hours 1998 Warner Bros.
Cool 2000 Warner Bros.
Face the
Music 2002 Bizarre Planet
Duke 2005 Bizarre Planet
In a Mellow Tone 2006 Bizarre Planet
Dukey Treats 2008 Heads Up
Déjà Vu 2010 Telarc Jazz
Dreamweaver 2013 Universal Music
