He produced pop and R&B hits for A Taste of Honey, Jeffrey Osborne, and Deniece Williams. Their first album contained the single " Sweet Baby", which became a Top 20 pop hit.ĭuring the 1980s, Duke's career moved to a second phase as he spent much of his time as a record producer. In 1981, he began a collaboration with bassist Stanley Clarke that would last through the 1980s, which combined pop, jazz, funk, and R&B. Later, that same year, his album Reach for It entered the pop charts, and his audiences increased. In 1977, Duke fused jazz with pop, funk, and soul music on his album From Me to You. ĭuke occasionally recorded under the name Dawilli Gonga, possibly for contractual reasons, when appearing on other artists' albums. He recorded I Love the Blues She Heard My Cry with Zappa's bandmates Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, and Bruce Fowler and jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. In 1975 he recorded with Pete Magadini (his Original drummer) the album Polyrhythm on Ibis Recordings. Zappa played guitar solos on his album Feel (1974). He spent two years with Zappa as a member of The Mothers of Invention, two years with Adderley, then returned to Zappa. After Frank Zappa and Cannonball Adderley heard him play, they invited him to join their bands. His second was with French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, with whom he performed in San Francisco. He taught a course on jazz and American culture at Merritt College in Oakland. He explained that he "wanted to be free" and Burrell "more or less made the decision for me" by convincing him to "improvise and do what you want to do". Īlthough Duke started playing classical music, he credited his cousin Charles Burrell for convincing him to switch to jazz. He earned a master's degree in composition from San Francisco State University in 1975. He attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley before earning a bachelor's degree in trombone and composition with a minor in contrabass from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1967. I ran around saying 'Get me a piano, get me a piano!'" He began his formal piano studies at the age of seven at a local Baptist church. "I don't remember it too well, but my mother told me I went crazy. His mother took him to see Duke Ellington in concert and told him about this experience. At four years old, he became interested in the piano. Duke was born in San Rafael, California, United States, to Thadd Duke and Beatrice Burrell and raised in Marin City. He was known primarily for 32 solo albums, of which A Brazilian Love Affair from 1979 was his most popular, as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. Duke (Janu– August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. Thomas’ tenure with Kool & The Gang dates back nearly 60 years, when, in 1964, seven Jersey City, New Jersey teenagers - brothers Ronald “Khalis” Bell and Robert “Kool” Bell and their friends “Dee Tee,” Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith - formed a band first called the Jazziacs the band - now an amalgamation of funk, soul and R&B influences - would adopt the Kool & The Gang moniker in 1969, the same year they released their self-titled debut album.George M. In the band’s early days, Dennis also served as the ‘budget hawk,’ carrying the group’s earnings in a paper bag in the bell of his horn.” Dee Tee was the group’s wardrobe stylist who made sure they always looked fresh. “A huge personality while also an extremely private person, Dennis was the alto saxophone player, flutist, percussionist as well as master of ceremonies at the band’s shows. Dennis’ prologue featured on the groups 1971 hit, ‘Who’s Gonna Take the Weight’ is legendary and an example of his showmanship. “An original member of Kool & The Gang, Dennis was known as the quintessential cool cat in the group, loved for his hip clothes and hats, and his laid-back demeanor,” the group said in a statement.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |