By 1977, the jazz content of George Duke's albums had decreased considerably, and soul and funk had become his main priorities.
Reach for It has more to offer from an R&B standpoint than a jazz standpoint, though the fusion it does contain is first rate -- including the Latin-influenced "Hot Fire" and "Lemme at It" (an aggressive gem that's in a class with some of the keyboardist/pianist's best work with the Billy Cobham/Duke Band).
Reach's heavy R&B content resulted in Duke facing the same accusation as George Benson, Patrice Rushen and other improvisers who moved away from jazz in the '70s -- that he was a sellout.
But none of this CD's R&B content comes across as contrived or formulaic.
In fact, Duke is downright inspired on the haunting "Just for You" and the Parliament-influenced title song.
Even so, it's always regrettable when a gifted improviser pretty much abandons jazz -- and Duke is a prime example.
It should be stressed that the high rating awarded this CD is primarily from an R&B standpoint -- and that those strictly interested in hearing Duke playing jazz would be better off investing in earlier efforts like Faces in Reflection.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The BeginningGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 01:50 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 2 | Lemme at ItGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Hot FireLeon "Ndugu" Chancler | George Duke | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 4 | Reach for ItLeon "Ndugu" Chancler, George Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 5 | Just for YouGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | Searchin' My MindGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 7 | Watch out Baby!Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, George Duke | George Duke | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 8 | DiamondsGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 51 MB |
| 9 | The EndGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 01:07 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 10 | Bring It on HomeGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Omi (Fresh Water) | George Duke | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 325 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penny Armstrong | Coordination |
| 2 | Masayuki Baba | Supervisor |
| 3 | Manolo Badrena | Bongos, Congas, Percussion |
| 4 | Michael Berniker | Coordination |
| 5 | Pete Cenedella | Package Coordinator |
| 6 | Leon "Ndugu" Chancler | Composer, Drums, Guest Artist, Timbales, Tom-Tom, Vocals |
| 7 | Glen Christensen | Art Direction, Concept |
| 8 | Stanley Clarke | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 9 | Herb Cohen | Management |
| 10 | George Duke | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 11 | John Golden | Mastering |
| 12 | Johnny Golden | Mastering |
| 13 | Bruce Heigh | Management |
| 14 | Dee Henrichs | Vocals |
| 15 | Charles "Icarus" Johnson | Guitar, Vocals |
| 16 | Charles W. Johnson, Jr. | Guitar |
| 17 | Icarus Johnson | Guitar, Vocals |
| 18 | Yoshihiro Kumagai | Supervisor |
| 19 | Ron Lorman | Management |
| 20 | Yoshio Matsushita | Supervisor |
| 21 | Kerry McNabb | Engineer |
| 22 | Byron Miller | Bass, Keyboards |
| 23 | Gary Pacheco | Coordination |
| 24 | Alan Santos | Management, Monitor Engineer, Monitor Mixer |
| 25 | Art Satren | Management |
| 26 | Norman Seeff | Photography |
| 27 | Michael Sembello | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 28 | Hiroyuki Shiotsuki | Mastering |
| 29 | Raul de Souza | Trombone |
| 30 | Neil Tesser | Liner Notes |
| 31 | Deborah Thomas | Vocals |
| 32 | Sybil Thomas | Vocals |
| 33 | Tony Tiller | Package Coordinator |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |