George Duke Interview @ Wolfgang’s Vault

By the time this interview was recorded in 1978, Duke had recorded and toured with Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderly, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham — covering jazz, rock, and everything on the spectrum in between before heading in a more straightforward funk direction with 1977’s Reach For It and its 1978 follow-up Don’t Let Go. Duke openly admits in this interview of trying to avoid being pigeonholed in any specific genre, and has a lot to say about the state of music in the late 1970s. Indeed, his views are as relevant today as when they were first recorded.

Click here to hear the whole interview.

Note:

‘Whatever happened to Shuggie Otis?’ is the only unanswered question in this interview. As you know, Shuggie Otis played Bass on Frank Zappa’s song “Peaches En Regalia”, from his “Hot Rats” Album.