About George Duke
George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He is known for his 32 solo albums, as well as for his collaborations with other musicians like Stanley Clarke and (his cousin) Dianne Reeves, but particularly with composer, guitarist and bandleader Frank Zappa. == Biography == George Martin Duke was born in San Rafael, California, United States, to Thadd Duke and Beatrice Burrell, and was raised in Marin City (CA). At four years of age, he became interested in the piano. His mother took him to see Duke Ellington in concert and told him about this experience. "I don't remember it too well, but my mother told me I went crazy. I ran around saying 'Get me a piano, get me a piano!'" He began his formal piano studies at the age of seven at a local Baptist church. He attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley (CA) before earning a bachelor's degree in trombone and composition, with a minor in contrabass, from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1967.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.