George Duke was an accomplished keyboardist, producer, arranger, bandleader, and composer. He was successful in both popular music and jazz, and straddled both sides of that aisle for most of his career. Duke grew up in Marin City, California, and in high school played in his first jazz group. His early influences were Miles Davis, Les McCann, and Cal Tjader, all of whom played a role in the diversity of his composing, playing, and arranging. After graduating from high school, he attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and majored in trombone and composition with a minor in contrabass; he received his bachelor's degree in music in 1967. He continued his studies at San Francisco State University, where he earned a master's degree, and briefly taught at Merritt Junior College in Oakland. While in school, Duke was part of a house band at San Francisco's Half Note with Al Jarreau. The band backed some of the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon.
George Duke had been fairly visible in the R&B world thanks to funk gems like "Reach for It" and "Dukey Stick" when he ventured to Rio to record A Brazilian Love Affair, a superb date employing such greats as singers Flora Purim and Milton Nascimento and percussionist Airto Moreira. Although not the return to instrumental jazz some hoped it would be, this heartfelt effort does contain its share of jazz-influenced material. From a jazz standpoint, the CD's most noteworthy songs include Nascimento's "Cravo e Canela," the charming "Brazilian Sugar," "Love Reborn," and the exuberant "Up from the Sea It Arose and Ate Rio in One Swift Bite." Meanwhile, Nascimento's vocal on the ballad "Ao Que Vai Nascer" is a fine example of Brazilian pop at its most sensuous. But however one labels or categorizes this music, the album is clearly a labor of love from start to finish.
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