That 1974's Faces In Reflection is one of fusion and jazz-funk's true delicacies from the period is beyond dispute. Another unique aspect, however, is the story behind this recording. Here it is told by George Duke himself: "Frank Zappa is responsible for my introduction to synthesizers. He told me one day, that I should play synthesizers. It was as simple as that! He bought an ARP 2600 and put it next to my Rhodes. It had all these knobs and looked totally intimidating. I took it home a few times with the manual, but got nowhere. I thought I was back in College studying some abstract foreign language. I finally settled on something simpler. It was an ARP Odyssey ".
The recordings are now available in unprecedented sound quality. The original analogue recordings from 1974 form the basis of Christoph Stickel's unobtrusive "refurbishing" which aims to avoid any artistic intervention. You, the valued listener, will be transported back into the sound engineer's chair at the time of recording.
Listen to music samples
01. The Opening |
02. Capricorn |
03. Piano Solo No. 1+2 |
| 04. Psychocomatic Dung |
05. Faces In Reflection No. 1 |
06. Maria Tres Filhos |
| 07. North Beach |
08. Da Somba |
09. Faces In Reflection No. 2 |
Tracklist:
1. The Opening 3:19
2. Capricorn 5:06
3. Piano Solo No.1 1:15
4. Piano Solo No.2 1:06
5. Psychocomatic Dung 5:03
6. Faces In Reflection No.1 3: 42
7. Maria Tres Filhos 5:09
8. North Beach 6:19
9. Da Somba 6:18
10. Faces In Reflection No.2 2:24
Artist:
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler: Drums, Percussion
George Duke: Composer, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Vocals
John Heard: Bass
Rick Holmes: Composer
Milton Nascimento: Composer
Fernando Brandt: Composer
3 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
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Great!
Enjoy how George overdubs various keyboards, great lead synth(as usual), and his voice as another instrument. John Heard and Ndugu rock on bass and drums.
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Cosmic Fusion!
Absolutely cosmic. This is right up there with Herbie’s Sextant as an exploration of what synthesizers can do in a jazz fusion context to explore the outer reaches of time and space. This is really a phenomenal record.
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Classic Fusion era masterpiece!
This is one of the greatest first wave Jazz fusion works. In a blind listen you might think you're listening to Return To Forever. The Fender Rhodes work as well as acoustic piano and ARP and Moog Synth with effects sound a lot like Chick Corea or Jan Hammer from that era. After one more album Duke's music became quite a bit more Funk R&B (which is not bad). But this is pure free flying fusion. Really I put this up there with RTF and Mahavishu Orchestra. If you're into the type of music you need to get this. It's far better than the really good sound bytes even indicate.
