Snapshot is a studio album by American keyboardist George Duke released in 1992 on Warner Bros Records. The album reached No. 1 on the BillboardTop Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 36 on the BillboardTop R&B Albums chart.[1][2][3] Duke dedicated the album to his mother, Beatrice Burrell Duke, "who brought the camera and showed me how to use it".
Mitchell May of the Chicago Tribune found that "This is a well-balanced trip into the jazz-fusion Duke has honed over the last two decades. Deftly mixing supple instrumentation with guest vocalists (Jeffrey Osborne, Deniece Williams, Keith Washington), Duke and a small army of sidemen provide plenty of jazz-inflected hooks.[6]
Jonathan Widran of AllMusic wrote "With a several decade career as an artist and producer successfully spanning the realms of bebop, fusion, soul, and funk, nothing gives George Duke more pleasure than being able to go back to his basics as an acoustic jazz pianist on his smooth, multifaceted Warner Bros. debut, Snapshot. The keyboardist takes listeners on a whimsical, generally cool journey through the myriad styles he's purveyed over the years: Latin, pop, R&B, and live-in-the-studio jazz. Snapshot seems divided by Duke's pop sensibilities and these urges to simplify those electronic trappings." Widran added "overall, Snapshot nicely reflects the state of Duke circa early '90s smooth jazz. Cut through the chaff and the remaining wheat here represents an artist pretty much doing what he does best: a little bit of everything in a mostly artistically satisfying manner."[4]
Josef Woodard of Entertainment Weekly exclaimed "R&B is the foundation of Snapshot‘s tracks, and soul stars such as Jeffrey Osborne and Deniece Williams serve up vocal cameos. But Duke’s harmonic savvy, as well as some crisp jazz riffs, keep this smooth, agreeable album from the numbskullduggery of its ”contemporary jazz” contemporaries."[5]
Track listing[]
All tracks composed by George Duke; except where indicated
Alex Brown, Angel Rogers, Carl Carwell, Chanté Moore, Jeffrey Osborne, Jim Gilstrap, Lori Perry, Lynn Davis, Marcy Levy, Phil Perry, Rachelle Ferrell - backing vocals
References[]
^George Duke: Snapshot. Warner Bros. Records. 1992.
