Former
Supremes singer Scherrie Payne confirmed Duke died at St John's
hospital in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
His
latest album, DreamWeaver, was released in July, as a tribute to his
wife Corine, who died from cancer a year ago.
He
is survived by his sons, Rasheed and John.
"I
just received the devastating and sad news that the great musician,
George Duke, passed away this evening," said Payne.
"It
was just one year earlier, 18 July, that his beloved wife and my
friend, Corine, went to be with the Lord."
An
accomplished musician across multiple genres, including jazz, funk
and R&B, Duke released more than 30 solo albums, as well as
producing and composing tracks for several musicians including Miles Davis, Gladys Knight and Anita Baker.
His
debut album, George Duke Quartet, was released in 1966, while he was
studying at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music.
"They
approached me at the break and asked me if I'd like to record an
album. Needless to say, I was in a state of shock," he
recalled of the
offer.
Despite
calling the album "the worst record" he ever made, Duke
went on to work with several talented artists in the late 1960s,
including the contemporary jazz violinist, Jean-Luc Ponty, with whom
he recorded an album in 1969.
After
meeting Zappa that same year, the pair worked together on a series of
records including Chunga's Revenge, 200 Motels and Apostrophe.
During
a career spanning five decades, Duke composed and produced music for
film and was an accomplished music director, leading several
prestigious events including the Nelson Mandela international tribute
concert in London in 1989 and a tribute to French singer and
songwriter Serge Gainsborough at the Montreux Music Festival.
His
work has also been sampled by musicians such as Kanye West and Ice
Cube and he featured on the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter,
Jill Scott's, third album.
Devastated
by the death of his wife, Corine, in 2012, he released DreamWeaver
less than a month ago as a tribute to her.
"I
don't want people to get the idea that this is a morbid record,
because it's more about celebration," Duke
said.
Duke
was due to perform with his band in Los Angeles in early September.
Source:
bbc
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