George Duke
George Duke
George Dukewas an American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a 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, of which 'A Brazilian Love Affair' from 1980 was his most...
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth12 January 1946
CitySan Rafeal, CA
We're performing several shows in the Canary Islands.
At the end of '69 I did a gig with Jean Luc Ponty here in L.A. He was an electric violinist.
I think I made my mark playing instruments like the Minimoog, because I learnt how to make them talk; I learnt how to get the blues out of them.
Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I actually had no central idea going into this album, I just wanted to record material that I felt good about.
Frank liked me because I went nuts on the piano using feet, head, whatever I could find to bang on the piano.
I'm planning a different show, though for obvious reasons some of the material will be the same, and of course I will perform material from the new CD.
At the same time, I definitely want to expand my fan base but not at the expense of prostituting my music or heart.
It's a great instrument. It's just not my instrument.
We want to let people know we're back out there.
They had too many classical piano players. I didn't have their chops. I couldn't keep up with them. But they also had a brass scholarship for trombone and they didn't have any trombone players. So I knew I could get that one!
Stanley and I decided at the end of last year to do a couple of dates, and we had so much fun we said let's make a commitment.
And of course, all the musicians come here, so it's like a time when we can socialize and be together and you meet friends over the years. It's almost like family here.
At the end of '69 I did a gig with Jean Luc Ponty here in L.A. He was an electric violinist.
I mean this record does not sound like somebody's maiden voyage.