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…
The Groove: Cherry Red, Robinsongs Collect Rodney Franklin’s Complete Columbia Albums
Between 1978 and 1986, Bay Area-born composer-pianist Rodney Franklin released eight albums for Columbia Records. Flourishing in the period where jazz met R&B and funk head-on, Franklin charted seven singles in the United States and scored one major hit in the United Kingdom (1980’s “The Groove”). Now, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs imprint has collected all eight of his Columbia albums on two CD sets, four albums per set. Having had the opportunity to meet such legendary jazz figures as Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington, Franklin honed his craft at the piano from a…
Hot Fun: Cherry Red’s Robinsongs Collects Stanley Clarke’s Epic Years
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…
Epic Jazz and Funk: George Duke and Stanley Clarke Complete Boxes Coming Soon
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…
