Dreamweaver 14.1

DreamWeaver marks George Duke's return to recording after a three-year silence, and his first since the death of his wife Corine in 2012. While he is always diverse, this set is uncommonly so. The opener, a slippery, atmospheric title intro, flows directly into the Latin-tinged "Stones of Orion," a jazz tune with Duke on piano, Rhodes, and synths, Stanley Clarke on upright bass, and a four-piece horn section. It's shimmering groove-oriented jazz that reflects the time that Duke spent with Cannonball Adderley. "Trippin'" is a funky, jazzed-up R&B tune where he offers his autobiography; it features some fine muted trumpet work by Michael Patches Stewart. "Missing You" is a jazz ballad tribute to Corine, with the finest vocal Duke has laid down in a decade. But there's funk here, too, in the fat stomper "Ashtray."