George Duke - Faces In Reflection (MPS AAA Series)

George Duke released Faces In Reflection in 1974. This early masterpiece shows Duke's new creativity on an arsenal of keyboards and is a great demonstration of his funky fusion work.

In many ways, this trio recording is a milestone in the career of this young Californian. George Duke unveils more of his early experiments with the ARP synthesizer, as well as a new creativity on such more conventional keyboards, as the Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, and the clavinet. As a result, Faces In Reflection is characterized by a wide variety of tonal hues. Duke himself cherished the recordings; he stated that, “This was the first LP that really said what I wanted to say.”

The journey moves from the explosive “The Opening” on to the tender-tinged “Capricorn”, which Duke had snatched from the Cannonball Adderley repertoire. Adderley had been the second major player he had worked with during that early period; Frank Zappa was the first. Two impressionistic solo intermezzi segue into the funky fusion escapade “Psychosomatic Dung”, with superb interplay between drummer “Ndugu” and bassist John Heard. The title piece’s secretive synth lines are the moments of calm before Duke’s passionate love affair with Brazil on the B side. The most surprising excursion on this side is the vibrant and rhythmically intricate adaptation of Milton Nascimentos’ “Maria Três Filhos”, counterbalanced by the synth laboratory of “North Beach”.

Heavyweight audiophile vinyl produced by MPS Records in 2021 for their 'Reforest The Legend MPS AAA Series'. Remastered from the original analog tapes by Christoph Stickel and Dirk Sommer. Pressed at Optimal Media in Germany. Includes photo insert of the original master tape box.

MPS Records was a German jazz record company founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer. MPS stands for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald".