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Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67.

Duke's career spanned five decades and he always straddled the line between disparate genres, collaborating with artists such as Miles Davis, Barry Manilow, Frank Zappa, George Clinton and some of Brazil's top musicians.

A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death.

"The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father's friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming," said his son, Rashid Duke, in a statement. "Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support."

Born in San Rafael, Calif., Duke aspired to a music career from an early age, after his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert.

, He told Scott Simon that he could not recall how many albums he'd put out.

"I'm kinda like [John] McCain in that way: He doesn't know how many houses he's got; I don't know how many albums I've got," Duke joked.

Duke was 67. His record label said he died after a battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

A little more than a year ago, Duke's wife died of cancer. Duke was devastated and could not make music for months. But, earlier this month, Duke released "DreamWeaver," which the AP's tied up Duke's eclectic career in a lush tribute to his wife.

"Duke expresses his love for his late wife on the tender, piano-driven ballad 'Missing You,' a romantic vocal duet with Rachelle Ferrell," Gans wrote. "The album ends by turning the cowboy ballad 'Happy Trails' — Dale Evans' closing theme to 'The Roy Rogers Show' — into a soulful, heartfelt farewell to his wife, made even more poignant by the sudden death of guitarist Jef Lee Johnson shortly after he recorded the fadeout guitar solo."

Over the course of his four-decade-plus career, the Grammy Award-winning keyboardist put out more than 40 albums and collaborated with artists such as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jill Scott and Michael Jackson. His music was also sampled by Kanye West, Daft Punk and Common.

"It's a wonderful thing that has happened under the banner of jazz," Duke told USA TODAY of his career longevity. "In R&B and rock, when you are over a certain age, they say goodbye to you. But in jazz, you just kind of level off and continue to gain respect, so long as you keep your integrity."

Duke's final album, DreamWeaver, was released July 16 and made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. It was his first new music since the death of his wife, Corine, last year.

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