Reach For It

Sound DNA

• Jazz
• Jazz Fusion

• saturated
• groovy
• funky

About

<i>Reach for It</i>, George Duke’s first album for Epic/CBS, delivered with its title song, which instantly turned the conservatory-trained Duke into an icon of '70s funk. With its hard, unhurried bassline, “Reach for It” would later become a cornerstone of the gangsta rap movement, where it was revered alongside works by Parliament-Funkadelic and The Ohio Players. “Watch Out Baby!” further demonstrated Duke’s mastery of the funk idiom, but the rest of the album was devoted to concurrent passions: synthesizer textures, jazz improvisation, Brazilian music. Though there are hundreds of ideas and impulses spinning through the album, Duke makes them all feel like part of a single thrilling romp. The swirling textures of “Omi (Fresh Water)” and “Diamonds” were a throwback to the all-inclusive, cross-genre jams that Duke had experienced as a member of the San Francisco scene in the '60s. Though he’ll be best remembered as a bandleader and keyboard virtuoso, Duke’s most underrated talent was balladry. “Bring It on Home” and “Just for You” are as sultry and haunted as anything by Sly Stone.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits