George Duke - The Inner Source 1971

In 1971 George Duke, having just recently done his time with the Mothers of Invention was engaged by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Beginning in April of that year, Duke made two recordings over a short timespan that on their release in 1973 as a double LP (against the desire of the artists, by the way), would be a major statement. In Chapter One of his fusion autobiography, Solus, Duke, along with the skeleton crew of bassist John Heard and drummer Dick Berk, tries out the new compositional philosophy he had absorbed from his work with Adderley. The album was obliged to maintain a jazzy environment, illustrated by the harmonically flowing piano improvisation on Love Reborn and the bop-influenced busyness of The Followers. But the record also signifies the importance of the keyboards in all their diverse contexts – the funky rock of Au-right, and the smoldering, dreamy feel of Peace, for instance. And on Manya Duke lives it up as he shows off his exuberant experimental synth side.
The Inner Source continues in the same vein. So There You Go is a downright delightful waltz featuring e-piano, whereas Some Time Ago is pure tonal color and atmosphere. We find an exotic gem in Nigerian Numberumba in which an African Lamellophone is craftily simulated with an echoplex and ring modulator. Duke also begins to vary the lineup here. Feels So Good und My Soul are reinforced with Latin percussion, and incisive horn and reed instruments (luminaries from the Thad Jones and Santana entourages). The same with the title track, a masterstroke of quintet dramaturgy, with Duke on his first instrument, the trombone. As a curiosity, two basses compete with each other on Twenty Five. The last piece, Always Constant, is a more open piece that spontaneously unfolded in the studio.

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George Duke - Faces In Reflection 1974

Released in 1974, Faces in Reflection was, in many ways, George Duke's third album as a leader for MPS. The first two, Solus and The Inner Source, were recorded separately but issued as a double-LP by SABA, which shortly thereafter ceased doing business and was folded into MPS. That said, there is little resemblance between the man who recorded his early albums like Save the Country, those aforementioned, and the seasoned studio experimentalist who cut Faces in Reflection. Duke's periods with Cannonball Adderley and Frank Zappa (the latter an ongoing relationship; it was Zappa who introduced Duke to the synthesizer) had taught him a ton musically and about working in the studio. The players here include Leon "Ndugu" Chancler and bassist John Heard. The sound is a seamless mixture of fusion, jazz, funk, and sound experiments; all are quite musical. It is a shock in the present century to even consider that this was Duke's first date as a leader even using a synth -- the ARP 2600 -- because he comes across as a master of its many textures and possibilities. The electric Rhodes and acoustic pianos are still a big part of the sound here, and the radio-friendly chart-topping funk he would cut later in the decade was still a little ways off. The set kicks off on the rock side of jazz and the jazz side of rock with a killer drum break from Chandler in double- and triple-time answered by the synth, bass, and Rhodes piano. Very quick, its funky bassline rumbles and pops playing counterpoint to Chancler's furious drumming. There are chunky wah-wah effects, and a reaching set of harmonic pulses Duke puts forth before his killer Rhodes solo. This cut is followed with Duke's own rendition of "Capricorn," a tune he wrote for the Adderley band (it was originally narrated by Rick Holmes, who wrote the words for the Soul Zodiac album). Its slow, soulful, summery groove is a sharp contrast to "The Opening." Duke's voice, humming and singing wordlessly as a component of the instrumental music, is lovely. It nurtures the free-flowing soul groove in the tune, and his Rhodes plays the chords percussively, allowing Heard an out-front look at the pace in the melody. But Duke's laid-back, in the cut solo on both acoustic and electric pianos, with just a little, dabble from the synth in the later third, makes this one of the great late entries in the classic cosmic soul-jazz book. One of the early, riotous, funky fusion offerings from Duke is "Psychocomatic Dung," and one can hear Joe Zawinul's enormous crescendos signaling a dynamic shift in the track (à la "Boogie Woogie Waltz") in Duke's composition. The bassline in this cut is simply monstrous, almost stealing the leader's thunder, which in turn is eclipsed by the colossal, uber funky pulse in Chancler's breakbeats in triple-time on the snare and ride cymbals. The way the ARP gets used here is also reminiscent of the knottiness in Zappa's early-'70s compositions as well. That said, Duke's ability to absorb these influences and turn them around with Afro-Cuban and other Latin rhythms is just smoking. Chick Corea may have been playing faster and more complex material with Return to Forever, but he had none of the real emotional fire and accessibility that was in Duke's approach even at this time. Corea had all but left jazz behind and Duke was saturating himself in it even as he pursued funky Brazilian, soul, and rock elements in his sound. Check out the mellow, flowing the first version of the title track which closes outside one on the LP. It's a synth drift that begins harmonically altering a simple melody as if it is a mirror of itself. Chancler's drums stroll through the middle, braking, rolling, filling, and putting the lyric frame in the context of a rhythmic statement. Heard just allows his simple pulse to keep both sides together. It's utterly lovely. Brazilian music makes a solid entry on the second half, first in the gorgeous "Maria Tres Filhos," with a wonderful ringing acoustic work articulated on acoustic piano with a ramped up bassline by Heard. Chancler is all over the place on the cymbals and tom-toms. The lyric is complex and full of interesting contrapuntal statements, but it swings like mad. The other entry is the sci-fi samba called "Da Somba." Think of genius Brazilian guitarist and composer Luiz Bonfá meeting Duke instead of Deodato for the killer samba fusion classic "Jacaranda" (that Bonfá had recorded in 1973 with a host of American and homegrown players). You'd get an idea of the passion, fury, and joy inherent in this tune as well as its steaming virtuoso musicianship. The overdriven Rhodes and synth lines asserting a pair of melodies and on-a-dime changes in time and scale, with a bruising upright bassline and thrumming, skittering blurry fast drum kit that is almost impossible to believe -- the drum and bass kids have nothing on Ndugu's hands and feet. The title cut reprises to close the set, with Duke singing a lithe, gentle, and brief melody sending it off into the quiet. It is simply an amazing ride of an album more than three decades after it was recorded, and it is still capable of making the listener's jaw drop. [For those seeking something a little more collectible, SPV has made available at a drastically reduced price the Japanese masters of the album in gatefold cover with a booklet containing the original liners and Duke's reflections on the album, all encased in a sturdy slipcover sleeve to protect the CD. It's more expensive than the Verve version but it a more handsome package. Either way, you cannot go wrong on this one.] AMG.

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George Duke - Feel 1974

A valued sideman, by the mid-'70s Duke would become a star and influential in his own right. For this 1974 MPS release, Frank Zappa had relinquished his studio time for Duke. The kind gesture immediately reverberated throughout jazz circles and beyond. By the time of this release, Duke's extensive resumé included two stints with Zappa's Mothers of Invention as well as some time with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Although this would be the third album under his name, Feel's eclectic mix of fusion and rock is his debut in the genre of which he'd later become a leader. The ARP synth-adorned and buoyant "Love" features Duke's blissful, falsetto vocals and Zappa's intense and searing guitar solos. The beautiful and ethereal title track boasts one of Duke's most effective melodies. The song also shows up as "Statement," an instrumental one minute and 15 seconds in length. The funky instrumental "Old Slippers" has impeccable drumming by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, with Zappaagain joining the fun with a gorgeous solo. A top-notch and insouciant Latin excursion, "Yana Aminah" features great double-tracked vocals from Flora Purim and well as Duke's deft synths, which replicate strings. Feel proves that, even at this relatively early stage, Duke's intelligent ear for melodies and his keyboard prowess set him apart from his contemporaries. AMG.

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George Duke - I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry 1975

The list of heavyweights who join George Duke on 1975's I Love the Blues: She Heard My Cry is impressive -- some of the participants include Johnny "Guitar" Watson, singer Flora Purim, percussionist Airto Moreira, guitarist Lee Ritenour, drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, and guitaristGeorge Johnson (of Brothers Johnson fame). With such a cast, one would expect this 1975 LP to be outstanding, which it isn't. But it's a respectable effort that thrives on diversity. The highlights of this album range from decent fusion instrumentals, like "That's What She Said," "Giant Child Within Us-Ego," and "Sister Serene," to the mellow soul ballad "Someday" and the Jimi Hendrix-like heavy metal/hard rock offering "Rokkinrowl," which finds Duke singing lead and contains some of Ritenour's more forceful playing. Meanwhile, Duke and Watson perform a vocal duet on the title song, which is the only 12-bar blues number on the album. In 1975, some jazz fans wished that the artist would stick to instrumental fusion and stay away from R&B and rock singing, but, in fact, it was jazz that Dukewould eventually move away from. I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry isn't recommended to those who only want to hear Duke as an instrumentalist, although it's enjoyable if you like hearing some rock, soul, and blues singing along with your fusion. AMG.

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George Duke - The Aura Will Prevail 1975

In 1975, George Duke was dabbling in R&B vocals. But instrumental jazz-fusion was still his primary focus, and he had yet to be played extensively on any of the genres' stations. When The Aura Will Prevailcame out that year, no one bought the LP for its occasional R&B vocal -- the main attraction was Duke's keyboard playing. "Fools" is a melancholy soul ballad that finds him singing lead and predicts what was to come on R&B-oriented releases like Don't Let Go (1978) and Master of the Game (1979), but it isn't typical of the album on the whole. This is a fusion effort first and foremost, and Duke has plenty of room to stretch out and improvise on instrumentals that range from the insistent "Floop de Loop" to the Brazilian-influenced "Malibu" (which shouldn't be confused with the Hole/Courtney Love gem). Two of the songs were written or co-written by Frank Zappa: the fusion instrumental "Echidna's Arf" and the gospel-minded soul item "Uncle Remus" (another tune that gives Duke a chance to sing lead). Without question, The Aura Will Prevail is among this artist's finest fusion-oriented albums. AMG.

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