In 1978 he recorded his breakthrough, the crossover funk album Reach for It it took him into the upper reaches of the pop charts, and moved his concert appearances from clubs to arenas. Duke signed to CBS in late 1975 and released his first solo album for the imprint, From Me to You, in 1976, and began scandalizing jazz critics with his inclusion of funk, disco, and soul elements in his compositions, and in the array of musicians who performed with him. Throughout these years, Duke recorded six albums for MPS: Solus/The Inner Source, Faces in Reflection, I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry, Feel, The Aura Will Prevail, and Liberated Fantasies, all of which are now regarded as jazz and jazz-funk classics. In 1975 he worked with Sonny Rollins and co-led a group with Billy Cobham. Duke then spent 1971-1972 as pianist with Cannonball Adderley's band, and then returned to Zappa from 1973-1975. He was invited to join Zappa's Mothers of Invention and accepted, spending much of 19 with him. The band played a slew of club gigs in the Bay Area, and at one such performance he was heard by audience members Frank Zappa and Cannonball Adderley. In 1969 Duke heard a record on the radio by French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and through his relationship with Pacific Jazz honcho Dick Bock he was able to make contact with Ponty they eventually recorded The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio in 1969. His first recording, The George Duke Quartet, Presented by the Jazz Workshop, was released on Germany's Saba imprint, which later became MPS, a label he enjoyed a fruitful relationship with in the '70s. He also began his recording career in 1967 while still in school. The band backed some of the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. While in school, Duke was part of a house band at San Francisco's Half Note with Al Jarreau. 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. 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. 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. Duke grew up in Marin City, California, and in high school played in his first jazz group. He was successful in both popular music and jazz, and straddled both sides of that aisle for most of his career. George Duke was an accomplished keyboardist, producer, arranger, bandleader, and composer.
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