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The Complete Arista Albums Collection
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 ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection
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 ...
Continue ReadingStanley Clarke: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection
by John Kelman
Legacy Recordings' recent spate of Complete Albums Collection box sets have righted a whole slew of wrongs by bringing long out-of-print recordings back in a reasonably priced and tidily collected series. They may be relatively light on production values--simple clamshell-style boxes, mini-LP cardboard sleeves, and booklets whose information, beyond detailed track and personnel listings, is largely dependent upon how much the artist has to say, if anything at all--but the opportunity to collect an entire discography from a specific period ...
Continue ReadingThe Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection
by Chris May
The six albums comprising this collection of George Duke's 1977-80 Epic releases are of uneven quality—as the keyboardist himself acknowledges in the liner booklet—but they make an interesting historical artifact. From a “jazz" point of view, five of the discs approach irrelevance, but the sixth, 1980's samba-informed A Brazilian Love Affair, is a classic which still has alluring legs. The back-story: Duke is one of those keyboard players who began their careers in the mid-1960s playing acoustic ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: Facing the Music
by Jeff Winbush
In jazz, there are two seminal figures called “Duke." For Edward Kennedy Ellington, “Duke" was a nickname. For George Duke, it is his surname, but the similarities with Duke Ellington don't end there. As a pianist, arranger, songwriter, bandleader and composer, George Duke has solidified his reputation as one of jazz's most important figures. Also a bold innovator who isn't afraid to confound admirers and critics alike, Duke dived headfirst into funk with his irresistible hit “Reach For It," an ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: Deja Vu
by Jeff Winbush
George Duke's Deja Vu should win the 2010 Truth in Advertising award, because it will sound familiar to anyone who following the keyboard virtuoso's 40-year career. Duke, however, doesn't recycle riffs wholesale from his repertoire, as he did on 2008's tepid Dukey Treats (Heads Up); instead, he pulls back from trying to recapture past funk glories with more consistently satisfying results, sounding more relaxed--and, perhaps, having a bit more fun.As a musician and producer, Duke has accomplished too ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: Dukey Treats
by Woodrow Wilkins
George Duke is one of those artists who defy easy description. A keyboardist, vocalist, composer and producer, he may turn up anywhere. At various stages of his career, he's been a bandleader, a sideman and manager of his own label, BPM (Big Piano Music).Duke's associations on the stage or in the studio cover various genres: pop, funk, blues, jazz, smooth jazz, etc. He was a member of Julian “Cannonball" Adderley's band, collaborated with Stanley Clarke, and has worked ...
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