Easy Money wrote:
As one of the folks in charge of additions to JR/F, I think very highly of Duke's keyboard skills, falsetto vocals and musical vision. My reviews of Zappa's One Size Fits All and early Ponty albums point out how much he brought to those albums.
Duke's early albums are fairly progressive, but become more commercial quickly. I have no idea what he is up to anymore. He may get added as a solo artist someday, but right now his contributions to fusion and prog-rock are well represented on PA through his work with Zappa, Ponty and others. |
Thanks, I agree. I wish all Zappa fans could hear The Aura Will Prevail, it is beautiful, and I'm guessing out of print. I also have no idea what he's been doing lately (lately being the last 20 years
). But I do remember one interview with him regarding the sampling artists, and his take was, roughly speaking, 'someone is eventually going to need to learn to play an instrument if music is to progress.' It was a rarely expressed sentiment.