George Duke - The Second Disc

Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, George Duke

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Blues, Classic Rock

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Can’t Afford No Shoes: Frank Zappa’s “One Size Fits All” Gets Expanded for 50th

July 31, 2025 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Following last year’s deluxe expansion of 1974’s Apostrophe (‘) and the recent restoration of the same year’s concert film Cheaper Than Cheep, Frank Zappa’s archival team is turning the page to 1975 and expansively revisiting One Size Fits All in time for its 50th anniversary. The guitarist-songwriter-bandleader-producer’s twentieth album (and fourteenth with The Mothers of Invention), it featured the by-then-familiar lineup of keyboardist George Duke, drummer Chester Thompson, percussionist Ruth Underwood, bassist Tom Fowler, and saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock. One Size Fits All continued their jazz-rooted satirical explorations, and reached No. 26…

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Blu-Ray, Box Sets, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Everything Else, Rock

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May the Funk Be With You: Cherry Red’s Robinsongs Boxes Up Five Discs of George Duke

November 25, 2024 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

George Duke (1946-2013) wore many hats throughout his long and varied career: keyboardist, composer, producer, arranger, singer. His solo discography encompassed 40 albums while his collaborations included LPs with such jazz luminaries as Jean-Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, and Dexter Gordon. He produced records for A Taste of Honey, Sister Sledge, Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, and Smokey Robinson. Jazz was only part of the George Duke story, as his music joyfully fused the genre with the strains of soul, rhythm and blues, dance, and pop. The Cherry…

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Flora Purim, George Duke, Stanley Clarke

Genres:

Funk, Jazz, R&B/Soul

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Review: Frank Zappa, “apostrophe (‘): 50th Anniversary Edition”

October 15, 2024 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Strictly commercial? Not quite. Though Frank Zappa earned his first top ten record and first Gold record with apostrophe (‘) – the same LP that spun off his first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 – it would be difficult to argue that the singer-songwriter-bandleader had dramatically altered his art in an effort to hit the charts. Sure, the material was a bit more focused and the album rather tight at 32 minutes in length. Yeah, the cover artwork, with its instantly recognizable, tightly-cropped image of the long-haired artist, looked much…

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Reviews

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Classic Rock

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Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews

Release Round-Up: Week of August 23

August 23, 2024 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. First Choice, Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980) (SoulMusic/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc celebrate Philadelphia girl group First Choice with Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980). This 4CD collection features expanded editions of the trio’s three original albums for Salsoul’s Gold Mind imprint, plus a specially-curated bonus disc featuring various remixes and reinventions of their timeless,…

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Release Round-Up

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Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Charlie Parker, Fanny, First Choice, George Duke, Jim Peterik, Jimi Jamison, Sheena Easton

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Frank Zappa, “Over-Nite Sensation: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition”

December 18, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Had Frank Zappa gone commercial? Surely the artist who proudly embraced the slogan “No Commercial Potential” hadn’t sold out to the masses. Yet, with 1973’s Over-Nite Sensation, the composer-guitarist-bandleader found himself in a particularly purple patch that resulted in two consecutive Gold albums and four straight top 40 entries on the Billboard 200. The title of Over-Nite Sensation was, of course, sarcastic; the record was Zappa’s seventeenth overall and twelfth with The Mothers of Invention. But the new fans he picked up with the LP might have believed it was a rebirth. …

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Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock

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Review: Frank Zappa, “Waka/Wazoo”

January 31, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Finally, a Zappa album that’s safe for the whole family! Frank Zappa’s pair of 1972 releases, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, stand as two of the most impressive and unusual in his sprawling catalogue. Forced to abandon live performing as a result of a crazed “fan” charging the stage and heaving him into an orchestra pit, the composer-bandleader spent nearly a year recovering from injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg. A wheelchair and a leg brace couldn’t stop Zappa’s prodigious creativity from flowing, though. His concept of an “electric…

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Reviews

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Everything Else, Jazz

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Walking on the Chinese Wall: SoulMusic Records Collects Philip Bailey’s First Three Solo Pop Albums

January 30, 2023 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

Band break-ups can be traumatizing, no matter how they happen. Philip Bailey, whose high falsetto vocals were a key part of Earth, Wind & Fire during their most commercial years in the ’70s and ’80s, has frequently described the band’s (temporary) dissolution, brought up during a 1983 band meeting by founder Maurice White, as one of the lower points of his career. Bailey’s next moves could shape his trajectory as an artist for better or worse. Of course, what happened over the rest of the decade helped solidify Bailey’s reputation as an…

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Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Deniece Williams, Earth Wind and Fire, George Duke, Little Richard, Nile Rodgers, Phil Collins, Philip Bailey

It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal: Zappa’s 1972 Chronicled on New CD/Blu-ray Box “Waka/Wazoo”

October 18, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 4 Comments

On the evening of December 10, 1971, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention had just encored with a performance of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at London’s Rainbow Theatre when a so-called fan jumped onto the stage and pushed the bandleader some twelve feet into the orchestra pit. With injuries to his face, head, ribs, arm, and leg, Zappa was lucky to survive. He was forced into a near-yearlong period of convalescence in a wheelchair and leg brace, but he didn’t stop creating or recording. 1972 would turn…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Classic Rock, Jazz

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This Is Niecy: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Box Deniece Williams’ Complete Columbia Albums on “Free”

June 25, 2021 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Let’s hear it for Deniece Williams. Since making her first big splash 45 years ago with debut album This is Niecy, the daughter of Gary, Indiana has scored 27 Billboard R&B hits and 14 Pop successes including two crossover Number Ones, won four Grammy Awards (and amassed another nine nominations), and recorded over fifteen albums blurring the lines between soul, pop, and gospel. Between 1976 and 1988, Williams made Columbia Records her home, both with Maurice White’s ARC imprint and with the label proper. Working with such top-drawer producers as White, Charles…

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News, Reviews

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Pop, R&B/Soul

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Deniece Williams, George Duke, Johnny Mathis, Maurice White, Thom Bell

Another Day In Paradise: Phil Collins Live Albums To Be Reissued in February

January 3, 2019 by Sam Stone | 2 Comments

It’s been a busy few years for Phil Collins. Most recently, he wrapped up the U.S. leg of the successful Not Dead Yet Live! Tour. He released the recent compilation, Plays Well With Others, which saw him dipping into his archives to find his session appearances and collaborations. He also released The Singles and oversaw the remastering of his studio work with the “Take A Look At Me Now” reissue series. Now, the campaign continues with the February 1 release of two remastered live albums from Atlantic/Rhino: Serious Hits… Live! and A Hot Night In Paris. Serious…

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George Duke, Phil Collins

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Jazz, Pop

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OUT TOMORROW! Melissa Manchester’s “Mathematics: The MCA Years” Arrives From Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music

November 1, 2018 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Melissa Manchester announced her independence from Arista Records when she signed to MCA Records after nearly a decade with Clive Davis’ famous label. At Arista, Manchester had established herself as one of the finest singer-songwriters of her era (or any other!) as well as a first-class pop interpreter. At MCA, she reinvented herself further by jumping headfirst into the world of dance-oriented synthpop, Hi-NRG, and new wave. 1985’s Mathematics bore the period’s hallmark of multiple big-name producers: George Duke, Brock Walsh, Robbie Nevil, Trevor Veitch, and executive producer Quincy Jones. Mathematics featured…

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Pop

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Craig Safan, David Shire, George Duke, Melissa Manchester, Quincy Jones

Hot Fun: Cherry Red’s Robinsongs Collects Stanley Clarke’s Epic Years

August 24, 2017 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Bassist Stanley Clarke has long been one of jazz’s leading lights. The Philadelphia-born musician and composer’s career, which flourishes to the present day, has recently been anthologized by Cherry Red’s Robinsongs label. The Definitive Collection concentrates on the period of 1975-1990 during which time he was recording for the Nemperor and Epic labels as a solo artist. Philadelphia-born Clarke first rose to prominence showcasing his bass wizardry as part of Chick Corea’s fusion jazz collective Return to Forever. While performing in Return to Forever, however, Clarke made his first steps as a…

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George Duke, Stanley Clarke

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Genres:

Funk, Jazz, R&B/Soul

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This Is It: SoulMusic Collects Melba Moore, Ramsey Lewis, George Duke On New Anthologies

December 8, 2016 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

SoulMusic Records, in association with Cherry Red, has recently launched a series of new 2-CD anthologies designed to give a comprehensive look at one period of an artist’s career. The initial group of releases is dedicated to three artists whose talents span multiple genres – Melba Moore, George Duke, and Ramsey Lewis. Melba Moore’s Standing Right Here: the Anthology – The Buddah and Epic Years devotes one disc to each one of those labels. Moore’s first major-label contract was actually with Mercury Records; the label signed her on the strength of her…

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Disco/Dance, Funk, Jazz, R&B/Soul

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George Duke, Melba Moore, Ramsey Lewis

Epic Jazz and Funk: George Duke and Stanley Clarke Complete Boxes Coming Soon

January 18, 2012 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

With the latest two additions to its growing Complete Albums Collections roster, Legacy Recordings and Epic Records are looking to two musical pioneers for which the description “jazz artist” seems largely inadequate. George Duke, keyboard virtuoso, and Stanley Clarke, electric and acoustic bass pro, have extensively toured and recorded together, but these forthcoming box sets turn the clock back to their solo periods on the Epic label. George Duke has proven himself equally adept at jazz, funk, R&B and pop, but over a lengthy career, he’s refused to be boxed in by…

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