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Funk/jazz icon George Duke comes backfrom tragedy and extreme writer's blockwith a celebratory return to his synth rootsBY WAYNE LOCKWOOD / SHOW AND TELL / Published: Wednesday, July 17, 2013, 2:46 PM

/ Updated: Wednesday, July 17, 2013, 3:41 PM

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George Duke is gripping the railing of a cruise ship. After the death of his wife, Corine, a few months earlier, thefunk/jazz keyboard legend has been utterly lost. And,shockingly for such a prolific composer, he hasn’t been ableto write or record a note. “I was scared,” Duke says. “I didn’t know what was going on.I was like, ‘Is this it? Am I done?’ It was really weird, becauseI live where my studio is. I’d look in that room and say, ‘I’mgonna go today,’ then it’d be, ‘Nope. Not today.’ “

So, Duke goes on a cruise. One of those jazz cruises, and definitely not to play. Just to try to chill outsome.

He listens to a little music and comes up to the deck to watch the sun rise. Suddenly, a flood, in themiddle of the ocean. The music starts to flow. Four songs that come to Duke that morning go directly on his new album, “DreamWeaver,” which hadits official release on Tuesday. Full lyrics, melodies, harmonies, all at once. Two of the songs, not surprisingly, are about his wife. Despite how easily the writing comes, when it’stime to record “Missing You,” Duke finds himself emotionally overwhelmed. “ ’Missing You’ was the hardest, because I directly wanted to write that to her. II did it, I tracked it, but I couldn’t sing it. It was absolutely too much to do. So I changed the lyric, tomake it more generic, like it could be about any girl, but I know what it is.” When you’re in grief, you go to your friends. Tons of Duke’s friends came together to help him makean album that is positively sunny. Bassist Stanley Clarke and guitarist Michael Landau appear on apair of cuts, Rachelle Ferrell is featured vocalist on “Missing You,” and “Change The World” featuresa star-studded vocal team including Lalah Hathaway, Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe Winans, FreddieJackson and Lori Perry. Near the end of the album, some friends who aren’t completely expecting to appear pop up on a15-minute cut that literally is vintage Duke. “Burnt Sausage Jam” is actually culled from 2002’s "TenMile Jog” on "Face The Music," Duke’s first album for his own label. It turns out that 10-minute song isactually part of a 45-minute jam that Duke had recorded, which has several almost orchestra-stylemovements in it that harken back to Frank Zappa. “It’s funny, (bassist) Christian McBride calls me up and says, ‘I heard I’m on your new album.’ I say,

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‘Yup, you are.’ He says, ‘Well, what did I play?’ “ “There was nothing, no framework, Duke says. “We just looked at each other and started playing. Justa real jam session. Nobody knew where it was gonna end, how it was gonna start, what key it was in. Ilove that ,just living-on-the-edge style.” Another set of friends make a welcome return – Duke’s collection of synthesizers, many from wayback during his Zappa tenure. “On the cruise, I knew absolutely I wanted this to be a synth record,” Duke says. “I hadn’t done that inawhile. I wanted quite a bit of this to be old, vintage sounds, Duke sounds. “That Arp Odyssey waskilling me, spitting all over, and the engineers were like, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ In the end, Igot what I wanted. Even on the old stuff, I got what I wanted.” The loss of his wife is very much on the surface of several songs. Underneath though, lurk a couplemore losses in bittersweet ways. First, the album has one of the last recordings by R&B singer TeenaMarie. “Ball & Chain” was meant to be the beginning of a full jazz album she wanted to do witih Duke.But they only get this one song done. “I was working with her on “Congo Square” (her final album), and she said to me, ‘I’d really like torecord a jazz album with you. And not for any label, let’s just go in there and record like we used to,and just see what happens.’ She wasn’t even there to do a final vocal, but you know Teena Marie,whatever she does is great.” Secondly, Duke’s longtime guitarist Jef Lee Johnson passes away soon after recording – ironically -- the two songs about Duke’s wife that he composes on the cruise. It’s a lot of loss at once. Possibly the hardest time of his life, Duke says. But he’s determined to not gointo darkness. “It’s a shame,” Duke says. “I didn’t see those losses coming. “But I didn’t want this to be a morbidrecord. This is a celebration.”

TAGS: DreamWeaver , George Duke , Music , Stanley Clarke , Teena Marie

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