George Duke

With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.

Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.

A Frank Zappa show goes way beyond a mere concert – it is an experience…a flight of improvisation, musicianship, and cerebral cynicism. An unparalleled Composer and Guitarist, Zappa redefined rock n roll paradigms by introducing into the mix his favorite influences from classical music, jazz, blues, doowop, traditional and non-traditional music. And he did so with unparalleled humor and audacity. But it was the music itself that influenced generations of musicians and, quite frankly, blew minds. Roxy: The Movie, filmed over three nights in December 1973, at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, is a powerful display of this experience, and reveals what made him such a pioneering musical revolutionary.

Featuring the only footage Zappa cut together from his legendary 1973 Roxy concerts, "Cheepnis" sings the praises of low-budget monster movies. This short documents the director, bandleader, songwriter and musician at work. (American Cinematheque program notes)

Frank Zappa: A Token of his Extreme is the 1974 television special recorded at Kcet in Hollywood that was produced by Zappa and aired only in France and Switzerland. The program, as thoroughly tweezed and produced by Zappa for his own Honker Home Video label, includes the following musical performances by Zappa and his band: T”he Dog Breath Variations/ Uncle Meat,” “Montana,” “Florentine Pogen,” “Stink-Foot,” “Pygmy Twylyte,” “Room Service,” “Inca Roads,” “Oh No,” Son of Orange County,” “More Trouble Every Day” and “A Token of My Extreme.” In the words of Zappa himself as he said it on The Mike Douglas Show in 1976, “This is put together with my own money and my own time and it’s been offered to television networks and to syndication and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry.

On the liner notes to Freak Out!, the 1967 debut album by Zappa's original band the Mothers of Invention, Zappa listed some seventy-two names on the liner notes and cited them as influences. The Freak Out List intends to explore who these artists are and what influence they had on Zappa's music. This listing encompasses all sorts of music, from classical composer Edgar Varese to R&B star Johnny "Guitar" Watson to jazzman Eric Dolphy to flamenco guitarist Sabicas. You can hear for instance, how the esoteric classical influence of Varese shaped Zappa's long-form epics like "Lumpy Gravy" or how Dolphy's instrumental prowess led Zappa to incorporate jazz-fusion on albums like Weasels Ripped My Flesh! (1970), which even included a song titled "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." Interviews with various Zappa biographers and music historians as well as musicians George Duke, Ian Underwood, and Don Preston, all of whom played in the Mothers at one time or another, help add additional context.

This episode focuses on Zappa's early 70s albums, Overnight Sensation (1973) and Apostrophy (') (1974). Together they encapsulate Zappa's extraordinary musical diversity and were also the 2 most commercially successful albums that he released in his prolific career. Included are interviews, musical demonstrations, rare archive & home movie footage, plus live performances to tell the story behind the conception and recording of these groundbreaking albums. Extras include additional interviews and demonstrations not included in the broadcast version, 2 full performances from the Roxy in 1973 and Saturday Night Live in 1976, and new full live performance done specially for these Classic Albums.

Legends Of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis is a dynamic all-star collection of 13 riveting performances featuring some of the biggest names in contemporary jazz music! Tracklisting: 1. Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling - Take Five 2. Chris Botti - My Funny Valentine 3. Marcus Miller, George Duke, Lee Ritenour - The Panther 4. David Sanborn, Phil Woods - Senor Blues 5. Chick Corea - Armando's Rhumba 6. Robert Cray, Keb' Mo' - 12 Year Old Boy 7. Benny Golson - Killer Joe 8. Ivan Lins - The Island 9. Clark Terry - Mumbles 10. Jane Monheit, John Pizzarelli - They Can't Take That Away 11. Dave Valentin - Obsesion 12. Dave Brubeck, Billy Taylor - Take the 'A' Train 13. Ramsey Lewis - Dear Lord

From "The Dub Room Special": 1.Approximate (3:56) 2.Cosmik Debris (5:14) 3.Room Service (5:58) Not For Broadcast 4.Stinkfoot (5:44) 5.Inca Roads (9:55) 6.Pygmy Twylyte (3:53) 7.Room Service (5:18) Song Selection 8.Dog Meat (4:10) - Dog Breath and Uncle Meat 9.More Trouble Every Day (13:07) 10.Montana (4:50) 11.George Duke Solo (7:40) 12.Florentine Pogen (8:15) 13.Oh No (4:54) 14.Pygmy Twylyte (9:46) 15.Stinkfoot (8:48) 16.Inca Roads (8:41)

A drug kingpin's return home touches off a turf war.

Casino Lights '99 is a live concert performance shot in 1999 at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival.

One Amazing Night is a 1998 live tribute show performed by artists such as Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, Luther Vandross, Sheryl Crow and others to honor the music of Burt Bacharach. It was recorded live at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City with Bacharach himself conducting the orchestra and playing the piano.

A funky hip-hop holiday special featuring a teenage boy named Orlando who lives in an underprivileged neighborhood.

Guitar Legends was a concert held over five nights, from October 15 to October 19, 1991, in Seville, Spain, with the aim of positioning the city as an entertainment destination to draw support for Expo '92 beginning the following April. The event featured 27 top guitarists, including BB King, Brian May, George Benson, Joe Walsh, Keith Richards, Les Paul, Robbie Robertson, Robert Cray, Roger Waters, Albert Collins, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. The vocalists included Rickie Lee Jones, Bob Dylan and Joe Cocker. Five 90-minute shows and a one-hour documentary were broadcast. Forty-five countries showed at least one live show. Later, broadcasters in 105 countries broadcast one or more programmes.

In a little over an hour, 'VIDEO FROM HELL' provides a preview of current and projected Honker releases, including 'BABY SNAKES', 'THE TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS' and 'UNCLE MEAT' (all 1987 releases) along with segments of 1988 shows still in preparation ('YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE'- which will be released after the multi-CD package, 'I NEED YOUR LOVE' - the homespun philosophy of Al Malkin, and 'AN AMERICAN DISSIDENT' - the homespun philosophy of Frank Zappa).

Jazz keyboardist George Duke is joined by a host of accomplished musicians for this 1983 concert event at Tokyo's Shibuya Public Hall. Combining the sounds of jazz, funk, and dance music, the all-star band jams to "Sweet Baby," "I Want You for Myself," "Love Reborn," "Mouth Grooves," "Dukes Shuffle," and many others. Band members include Steve Ferrone, Louis Johnson, Paul Jackson Jr., Robert Brookins, Lynn Davis, and Marci Levy.

Produced by Frank Zappa in 1982, The Dub Room Special combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce Bickford, and several interviews. Previously only available through mail-order, it was made widely available on DVD on October 17, 2005.

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.

George Duke: Live At Shibuya Public Hall - Tokyo, Japan 1983