George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He worked with many artists as an arranger, music director, writer, record producer, and professor of music. He first gained recognition for an album called The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with his band, the George Duke Trio. He is known for creating 32 solo albums and for working with other musicians, such as Stanley Clarke and (his cousin) Dianne Reeves, but especially with composer, guitarist, and bandleader Frank Zappa.
Biography
George Martin Duke was born in San Rafael, California, United States, to Thadd Duke and Beatrice Burrell. He grew up in Marin City, California. At age four, he became interested in the piano. His mother took him to see Duke Ellington in a concert and later told him about this experience. "I don’t remember it too well, but my mother said I was very excited. I ran around shouting, 'Get me a piano, get me a piano!' " He started formal piano lessons at age seven at a local Baptist church.
He attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California, before earning a bachelor’s degree in trombone and composition, with a minor in contrabass, from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1967. He later earned a master’s degree in composition from San Francisco State University in 1975.
Although Duke began playing classical music, he thanked his cousin Charles Burrell for helping him switch to jazz. He said he "wanted to be free," and Burrell "more or less made the decision for me" by encouraging him to "improvise and do what you want to do." He taught a course on jazz and American culture at Merritt College in Oakland.
Duke recorded his first album in 1966. His second album was with French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and they performed together in San Francisco. After Frank Zappa and Cannonball Adderley heard him play, both invited him to join their bands. He spent two years with Zappa as a member of The Mothers of Invention, two years with Adderley, and then returned to Zappa. Zappa, who only played for his own projects, performed guitar solos on Duke’s album Feel (1974) after Duke joined him on nine of Zappa’s albums and toured with the Mothers. In 1975, Duke recorded an album called Polyrhythm with his original drummer, Pete Magadini, for Ibis Recordings. He also recorded I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry with Zappa’s bandmates Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, Bruce Fowler, and jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour.
Duke sometimes recorded under the name Dawilli Gonga, possibly for contract reasons, when appearing on other artists’ albums.
In 1977, Duke combined jazz with pop, funk, and soul music on his album From Me to You. Later that same year, his album Reach for It entered the pop charts, and his audience grew. In 1981, he began a long-term collaboration with bassist Stanley Clarke, which included pop, jazz, funk, and R&B music. Their first album had the single "Sweet Baby," which became a Top 20 pop hit, reaching Number 19 on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 and Number 6 on the R&B charts.
During the 1980s, Duke’s career shifted as he spent much of his time as a record producer. He produced pop and R&B hits for artists such as A Taste of Honey, Jeffrey Osborne, and Deniece Williams. His clients included Anita Baker, Rachelle Ferrell, Everette Harp, Gladys Knight, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, The Pointer Sisters, Smokey Robinson, Seawind, and Take 6.
Duke worked as musical director at the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London. In 1989, he temporarily replaced Marcus Miller as musical director of NBC’s late-night music program Sunday Night during its first season. He also served as a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards (AIM).
He died on August 5, 2013, in Los Angeles, at the age of 67, from chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Awards and honors
The Grammy Awards are given every year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Duke has won two awards out of nine times he was nominated.
Duke was added to The SoulMusic Hall of Fame at SoulMusic.com.
Al Jarreau recorded the tribute album My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke (Concord, 2014), which includes songs written by Duke. The album features musicians Gerald Albright, Stanley Clarke, Dr. John, Lalah Hathaway, Boney James, Marcus Miller, Jeffrey Osborne, Greg Phillinganes, Kelly Price, Dianne Reeves, and Patrice Rushen. The album won the 2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album.