George Duke: An Appreciation by A. Scott Galloway
From Adderley to Zappa…and All the Space Between:
An Appreciation of George Duke
by A. Scott Galloway
Some losses leave unfathomable fissures in the foundation of family, community and industry. The transition of George Duke at age 67 from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is such a loss. The proof lies in the first 48 hours of homage that swept across social media – emanating as much from the hearts of folks who knew him as among the warmest, funniest and most generous of men to walk the earth as from musicologists who strained to mainline the panoramic palette of his musical breadth and depth. The passing of George Duke demands that one ponder long and hard of the experience, wisdom, perspective and personality that has ascended. Yet voluminous traces have been left behind for generations to study and enjoy long into the future. It is “the future” that the electric keyboard and synthesizer wizard always had his third eye locked on…heart anchored in ancient reveries of Afro-acoustic ivories…and The Spirit ever in it.
