2006年VOA标准英语-George Duke Covers Influential Standards on Lat

By Doug Levine
Washington
26 August 2006

After all these years, has jazzman George Duke finally mellowed² out?  We get the answer from VOA's Doug Levine who samples Duke's latest album, In A Mellow¹ Tone.

--------

George Duke In a Mellow Tone

Considered a pioneer of '70s jazz-fusion, George Duke, 60, takes aim at the great American songbook, and at what he calls "eloquently³ stated melodies that will stand the test of time."

Frank Loesser's "Never Will I Marry" is one.  Rogers and Hart's "Spring Is Here" is another.

George Duke has come full circle.  Growing up in Northern California, he developed a fondness for jazz after seeing a concert by The Duke Ellington Orchestra.  He decided⁴ right then and there that he wanted a piano, and by age seven, he was already hard at work studying the masters. 

Duke had a knack⁵ for being in the right place at the right time.  He landed a spot with a jazz trio while attending the San Francisco Conservatory⁶.  Soon after, he toured with singer Al Jarreau, followed by stints⁷ on electric piano with Jean-Luc Ponty, Cannonball Adderly, and Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention.  It was Zappa who first encouraged Duke to sing and play synthesizers.

George Duke sings Duke Ellington, the title song from his latest album, "In A Mellow Tone."

Having been a session player and a solo recording⁸ artist, there was only one thing left for Duke to do, which was to produce.  During the late '70s and 1980s, he divided his time between his own projects and producing albums for some of the biggest names in R&B, including Anita Baker⁹ and Jeffrey Osborne. 

Sure, George Duke has mellowed.  Who can blame him for wanting to trace his roots back to the tried and true melody, back to the great jazz standards, and even leave some room for an original song or two, such as "Quiet Fire," featuring Brian Bromberg on bass¹⁰ and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums.

1 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

2 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。

3 eloquently   

adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地)

参考例句：

• I was toasted by him most eloquently at the dinner. 进餐时他口若悬河地向我祝酒。
• The poet eloquently expresses the sense of lost innocence. 诗人动人地表达了失去天真的感觉。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

6 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

7 stints   

n.定额工作( stint的名词复数 )；定量；限额；慷慨地做某事

参考例句：

• He stints himself in [of] sleep. 他节制睡眠。 来自辞典例句
• She never stints herself of money to buy books for her children. 她从不吝惜掏钱让子女们买书。 来自互联网

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。