'Reach For It' - The Genius of George Duke

A celebration of widely loved and admired, now much-missed musical maestro - George Duke. 'Reach For It - The Genius of George Duke' is a musical celebration of the master keyboardist, singer, composer, all-round genius and great guy. Tracing his work from the Zappa years as a key member of the Mothers through a glittering multi-album solo career, his heavyweight collaborations (Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, et al) and Montreux triumphs, Dukey's music provides a vivid melodic canvas for these top players to express themselves. Expect impeccable ensemble musicianship of the highest order - fab funk, groovy jazz and major Brazilian vibes all spiced with masterful soloing to take the breath away!

George Duke was a jazz-funk keyboard star of the 70s who became a hit-making music producer, whose credit turns up in the small print of countless jazz, soul and R&B records – he played with Michael Jackson, Airto, David Axelrod, Chaka Khan, Flora Purim, Shuggie Otis, Sonny Rollins, Nancy Wilson and hundreds more.

Duke was a member of several jazz-fusion supergroups, including a band with the former Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Billy Cobham and a power trio with the bassist Stanley Clarke.

The success of Duke's album Reach For It (1977) attracted a more funk - and R&B-oriented audience to his gigs, and eventually enabled him to develop a parallel career as a hit-making producer – he made albums with Dee Dee Bridgewater, the duo A Taste of Honey, Jeffrey Osborne, Deniece Williams and many more artists, including Take 6 and his cousin Dianne Reeves.