The George Duke Primer Blog…
- The Dukey in his prime…
if you don’t know George Duke–shame on your ass…
I keed…
f’real doe…
George Duke is a keyboardist, songwriter, composer, bandleader, vocalist, and producer from San Rafael, CA…
Dukey is based in jazz…but he does alot more than that…Funk, Pop, Classical, Soul, and Afro-Latin…
Even if you don’t know Dukey’s name, you’ve heard his music…
Dukey started out with Jazz great Cannonball Adderley, from there went on to join Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention
- FZ
Cosmic Debris (live):
…in the mid 70’s he went solo…
Dukey had been making solo records since the late 60’s but he didnt hit his stride as a solo artist until 1974’s Feel…
it was here that Dukey began to embrace Soul/R&B and Funk textures in his music, playing more Rhodes Electric piano and using the new analogue synths…he also started to sing, bringing forth a warm falsetto and natural register…
- Feel – MPS Records, 1974
Check out the title track…one of my Dukey favorites…
Feel (Feel – MPS Records, 1974)
After scoring some crossover hits in the mid-70’s with his next few albums, the public began to take notice of Dukey:
- The Aura Will Prevail – MPS Records, 1974
Dawn (The Aura Will Prevail, 1974):
For Love (I Come Your Friend) {The Aura Will Prevail, 1974}
I love the way Dukey harmonizes with himself on this one….
- I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry – MPS Records, 1975
Someday (I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry, 1975):
- Dukey’s album Liberated Fantasies – MPS Records, 1976
- The 1976 Keyboard Album wasn’t released until 1982 on Epic/CBS Records
Dukey took a break to form a band with badass fusion drummer, Billy Cobham resulting in one album, Billy Cobham/George Duke Band – Live In Europe(1976)
- Live On Tour In Europe – Atlantic Records, 1976
You can find performances for most the songs on this album on You Tube…
the live version of Space Lady is FAR superior than the album version…but I guess it had to be that way because in the show, Space Lady is a just a long intro for a solo version of Someday…
If you got 10 mins to spare, check it out…its really dope:
Space Lady/Someday (live, 1976):
Ivory Tattoo (live, 1976):
Dukey went ahead and made the jump to a major label(Epic/CBS) with his 1977 album From Me To You…
- From Me To You – Epic/CBS Records, 1977
You and Me (From Me To You, 1977):
featuring his cousin Dianne Reeves….somebody stretched and pulled the intro into Dilemma by Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland…
Dukey admits that he was trying to find his style on that album…it was the next album that he hit paydirt…
- Ndugu is one of the most sought after drummers in the world and the man responsible for the instantly recognizable drums on Billie Jean… and was Dukey’s partner in crime during his funk days.
drummer Leon “Ndugu” Chancler brought Dukey Parliament’s Mothership Connection album and told him that they needed to start gettin deeper into the funk…Dukey agreed and this was the result…
- Reach For It – Epic/CBS Records, 1977
Reach For It – live (1977):
around this time Dukey hired an 18 yr old female percussionist from Oakland named Sheila Escovedo.
She and Ndugu switch instruments at the 4:00 mark…the killer bass solo is by Detroit native and former Roy Ayers bassman, Byron Miller…
Reach For It – studio version (Reach For It, 1977):
- Pete Escovedo and his daughter, Sheila Escovedo circa 1978
- Pete and Sheila Escovedo Solo Two – Fantasy Records, 1977
- Pete and Sheila Escovedo Happy Together – Fantasy Records, 1978
- A few years after her time with Dukey, Sheila Escovedo started hangin out with a little boy who was a George Duke fan that she met backstage at a Dukey show and became Sheila E.
Ndugu is one of the top session drummers ever and the man responsible for the instantly recognizable drums on Billie Jean….
it was abt this time that Duke really started diving into his Brazilian influences inspired by Earth Wind and Fire (a career-long influence on Duke’s work)…
Diamonds (Reach For It, 1977):
this is one the illest songs I’ve ever heard.
its Dukey’s Brazilian stuff that inspired Windimoto’s Shake It Down(no plug-o) though I’m nowhere near the composer that Dukey is…
Dukey’s ballads were also evolving quite nicely…
Just For You (Reach For It, 1977):
Dukey’s underrated vocal skills are showcased here…
The late 70’s were a hugely successful time for Dukey….he locked in on his style, he now had a dedicated band to execute his jazz/funk/R&B/Latin/disco fusion…
Dukey scored big on radio again the next year…
- Don’t Let Go – Epic/CBS Records, 1978
Dukey Stick (Don’t Let Go, 1978):
Dukey and band on stage and in the studio (1978):
Diamonds, Reach For It, and Dukey Stick are performed here in this kinda EPK thing….watch Ndudgu clown the guitar player…
dontchu wanna be in a funk band now???
Yeah, We Goin’ (Don’t Let Go, 1978)
The Way I Feel (Don’t Let Go, 1978
meanwhile, Disco was taking the world by storm…so Dukey kept his ears open and worked that into his sound on his next album, the excellent Follow The Rainbow(1979)….
- Follow The Rainbow – Epic/CBS Records, 1979
Funkin’ For The Thrill(Follow The Rainbow, 1979)
of course, Dukey continued to write excellent R&B material…
Say That You Will (Follow The Rainbow, 1979)
^^this song^^ is so well written and gorgeous, it damn near makes me jealous….
Sunrise (Follow the Rainbow, 1979):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AUN5LiooHY
Dukey kept his jazz chops up…
Corine (Follow The Rainbow, 1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBSKJplkP3Y
Later that year, Dukey continued to ahead with incorporating Disco and Brazilian together into his sound…
- Master Of The Game – Epic/CBS Records, 1979
Look What You Find (Master Of the Game, 1979):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTp-TrVCuKQ
Dukey even messed around a created a Disco classic…
- I Want You For Myself feat. Lynn Davis, 1979
I Want You For Myself (Master Of The Game, 1979):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unBfb2syL18
and of course, he kept his slow jams tight…
Every Little Step I Take (Master Of The Game, 1979):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66eHdykYBhg
he even left somn for a future generation…
- Daft Punk
I Love You More (Master OF The Game, 1979):
Daft Punk Gap commercial (music: Digital Love )
In the middle of all this he produced a disco classic for Dee Dee Bridgewater….
- Dee Dee Bridgewater Bad For Me – Elektra Records, 1979. Dukey produced this entire album.
Dee Dee Bridgewater/Bad For Me (Larry Levan mix Bad For Me, 1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV9phqupvn0
Dukey found himself pumping out jazzy funky Latin flavored R&B with ease….he wanted to challenge himself…
He took his band down to Brazil…linked up with some Brazilian musicians and created his best album ever, A Brazilian Love Affair…
- A Brazilian Love Affair – Epic/CBS Records, 1979
Duke’s third album of 1979, ABLA is made up of mostly instrumentals where Dukey gets to dive into Brazilian music headfirst while still bringin his funk and jazz into the mix…
Summer Breezin’(A Brazilian Love Affair, 1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfzjBher8Hk
Brazilian Sugar (A Brazilian Love Affair, 1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEp5E0POoJ0
featuring the Queen of Wordless Vocals, Flora Purim(a frequent Dukey collaborator)….
- Flora Purim Carry On – Warner Bros. Records, 1979. Dukey produced this whole album, too. How he didn’t fall out from exahustion in 1979 is beyond me.
as the 70’s drew to a close, the emphasis on heavy soul/funk waned and Disco was killed….Dukey had to adapt…in 1981, he decided to get with his old friend, bassist Stanley Clarke and do an lighter flavored album….they called it The Clarke/Duke Project….
- The Clarke/Duke Project – Epic/CBS Records, 1981
the result?…a smash hit…
Sweet Baby (The Clarke/Duke Project, 1981)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZZcZHWw9eM
the rare video for Sweet Baby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpPFqmQ7V4M
in the mid-80’s things REALLY changed…again, Dukey adapted…his versatility allowed him to produce these songs…
(1980)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqFkUNqBwMw
(1984)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4UEavSILe4
(1983)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh9kUNHdfoM
(1984)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I87wCxykxyE
(1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0Z6TF68UM
(1987)
(1991)
(1992)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h65azRDIg4Q
(2000)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGYPXB_8h8w
In 1993, although he had not stopped recording, Dukey mounted a comeback as a recording artist when he scored this hit…
- Snapshot – Warner Bros. Records, 1993
No Rhyme, No Reason (Snapshot, 1993)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ql53x-3WAI
Even today…Dukey hasnt stopped…he just released a funk album called Dukey Treats, using many of his old school crew….
- Dukey Treats – Big Piano Music/Heads Up Records, 2008
EPK for Dukey Treats:
As you prolly guessed, Dukey is one of my favorite artists….and I feel he is mad underrated as a player(I rate him slightly over Hancock), composer, producer, and vocalist, even though he’s had a highly successful and lucrative career as both a performer, player, and producer….his schedule has been non-stop for about…..oh, 40 years now…
and if you wanna hear about the musical adventures that went into each of these albums, hit up the master himself at www.georgeduke.com…there’s plenty of goodies here to keep you occupied for an hour or so…Dukey even offers some of his out of print albums on CD for direct order…
AND…
Universal has just released ALL of Dukey’s MPS Records work on a 4 disc set entitled My Soul: The Complete MPS Fusion Recordings…
- My Soul: The Complete MPS Fusion Recordings – MPS/Universal Records, 2008
So hopefully after this, you wont sleep…and hopefully, you found some new treats to get into….
Pz,
Scorpeze of Windimoto
