By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
Cover of George Duke’s final album
When George Duke was four years old, living in Marin City, his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert. “I remember seeing this guy in a white suit, playing this big thing, which I later found out was a piano," Duke told USA TODAY in 1997. "He had all these guys around him, and he was waving his hands conducting, and he spoke very intelligently and seemed to be having a good time. And his name was Duke, and my last name was Duke. I told my mom, 'I want to be him.' That moment in time set the stage for me." He began his formal piano studies at the age of seven at a local Baptist church.
Although Duke started playing classical music, he credited his cousin Charles Burrell for convincing him to switch to jazz. 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."
George was very active musically while attending Tam High. A local newspaper, the Tamalpais News, reported in 1967: “He played in the band for four years, was a member of the orchestra, and even sang in an opera presented at Tam, ‘Amelia Goes to the Ball.’ During his sophomore year he organized his first jazz group. Later in high school he brought together his first trio.
“Although George has still not completed his musical training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he is a senior, he and his trio have successfully completed many night club engagements in the Bay Area as well as giving concerts throughout Northern California.”
Over the course of his four-decade-plus career, the Grammy Award-winning keyboardist put out more than 40 albums and collaborated with artists such as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jill Scott and Michael Jackson. His music was also sampled by Kanye West, Daft Punk and Common.
"It's a wonderful thing that has happened under the banner of jazz," Duke told USA TODAY of his career longevity. "In R&B and rock, when you are over a certain age, they say goodbye to you. But in jazz, you just kind of level off and continue to gain respect, so long as you keep your integrity."
He returned to his Mill Valley alma mater more than once to entertain the students, and the Tamalpais News covered a 1967 performance:
“The scene was Mead Theater around three o’clock on Breakthrough Day and many Tam students had come to the entertainment rally to see the George Duke Trio. They were not disappointed. In fact, the George Duke Trio was having a ‘jazzy’ time communicating musically with the student audience. Spirits were high among the students, who got so enthusiastic that they began clapping to the beat of the trio’s rendition of ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.’ The appearance of George Duke and his trio was one of the highlights of the Breakthrough program. Their performance evoked a cheering response, and the students were reluctant to let the trio leave the stage.”
In 1977 Contemporary Keyboard Magazine commissioned Duke to compose an orchestral suite, excerpts of which he performed at the 20th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September. Magazine editor Tom Darter said Duke’s Contemporary Keyboard Suite would utilize a variety of keyboard instruments including acoustic and electric piano, and various synthesizers. “We chose Duke for this commission because he is a master at the multiple keyboard approach to modern music as well as being one of today’s finest young composers and keyboard performers.” At Monterey Duke performed with the 21-piece California All-Star Jazz Band conducted by Benny Golson.
Duke played an amazing array of instruments, including acoustic piano, electric grand piano, Fender Rhodes, a four voice Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer, a mini Moog and an ARP Odessey. Darter described Duke as an artist “almost beyond classification. His artistry ranges from pure jazz, through rock interpretation and into modern contemporary improvisational music. He is a wonder."
This musical colossus bestrode many musical genres, teaming with contemporary jazz performers including Gerald Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hutcherson, Lalo Schifrin, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Gary Burton, Art Blakey, Clark Terry and others. His collaboration with French contemporary violinist Jean-Luc Ponty led to major engagements and several record albums. From the Ponty experience Duke joined iconoclastic performer-composer Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. Duke followed his stint with the Mothers by joining Cannonball Adderley with whom he served as keyboardist for two years. Then it was back to the Mothers and Zappa, a fruitful association that proved seminal for Duke.
His final album, DreamWeaver, was released July 2013, shortly before his death at age 67, and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart.