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The Crusaders (formerly known as The Jazz Crusaders) were an American jazz group that was successful from the 1960s to the 1990s. The group was known as the Jazz Crusaders from their formation in 1960 until shortening their name in 1971. The Crusaders were comfortable playing a wide assortment of genres, from straight ahead jazz, to urban R&B, to R&B-based jazz, to even
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
. The band reached a commercial apex in 1979 with their hit single " Street Life", featuring lead vocals by
Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...
, and their accompanying album of the same name.


History

High school friends
Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...
(piano),
Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...
(tenor saxophone) and Nesbert "Stix" Hooper (drums) formed their first band together, the Swingsters, in
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
in 1954. They played a mixture of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and R&B, and were joined by Wayne Henderson (trombone),
Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...
(flute), and Henry Wilson (bass). The group soon turned more to
hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
, and renamed themselves the Modern Jazz Sextet, but also recorded in a more R&B vein as the Nighthawks (or Nite Hawks). In 1960, Sample, Felder, Hooper and Henderson moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and formed the Jazz Crusaders as a quintet with a succession of different bass players. Influenced by musicians such as
Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...
,
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
and
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
, the band signed to the
Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...
label in 1961, and released 16 albums on the label over the subsequent eight years. With a front-line horn section of Felder and Henderson, the group's sound was rooted in
hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
, but with a slant towards R&B and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
. Their first two albums, with Jimmy Bond on bass, were '' Freedom Sound'' (1961), and ''
Lookin' Ahead ''Lookin' Ahead'' is the second album by The Jazz Crusaders recorded in 1962 and released on Pacific Jazz Records.Stix Hooper ...
'' (1962), followed by the live album '' At the Lighthouse'' (1962) and '' Tough Talk'', the first of several albums with bassist Bobby Haynes. In all, the group recorded five live albums in the 1960s, four of which were recorded at the Lighthouse Café in
Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...
. They also had their first chart entry, their treatment of
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's "
Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a 1965 hit single recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single Wonder co-wrot ...
" reaching No. 95 on the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
in 1966. The group's 1969 album, '' Powerhouse'', was their first to reach the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, reaching No. 184, and was also their last studio album for Pacific Jazz. The group then signed with the Chisa label, co-owned by trumpeter
Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...
and producer
Stewart Levine Stewart Levine (born 1946) is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Hugh Masekela, Dr. John, Randy Crawford, B.B. King, Huey Lewis and the News, Patti LaBelle ...
. Their 1970 album ''Old Socks, New Shoes'' reached No. 90 on the album chart, and was their last as the Jazz Crusaders. The decision was taken to call the group simply the Crusaders, so as not to limit their scope and potential audience. After a second album with Chisa, (''Pass the Plate'', 1971), and one album for the
MoWest Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
label (''Hollywood'', 1972) they signed with
Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active un ...
, where they remained until the late 1970s. Their recordings increasingly adopted a
jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...
style. They incorporated electric guitar and bass into their shows and recordings, as well as using Sample's
electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
and
clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...
. Guitarist
Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...
joined and featured on their albums in the early part of the decade. Bass duties were often handled by Felder, with Max Bennett contributing in the early/mid-70's and Robert "Pops" Popwell joining later in the decade. According to jazz critic
Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...
at
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, however, "after a few excellent albums during the early part of the decade... the group began to decline in quality." Sample later commented that the group was under commercial pressure from record companies to record jazzed-up versions of contemporary popular songs. Henderson left to become a
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
in 1975, and the other musicians regularly and increasingly worked as session musicians with artists such as
the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
,
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
,
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
,
Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
, and
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
. With a growing
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
appeal, the group's most commercially successful recordings included the single "Put It Where You Want It" (No. 52 pop, 1972), and the albums ''The 2nd Crusade'' (No. 45 album, 1973), ''
Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American, naturally fruit-flavored, whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. W ...
'' (No. 31 album, 1974), ''
Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that syst ...
'' (No. 26 album, 1975), '' Those Southern Knights'' (No. 38 album, 1976), and ''Images'' (No. 34 album, 1978). The peak of the group's commercial success came with 1979's '' Street Life'', with
Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...
as featured singer. The album peaked at No. 18 on the pop album charts and the title track made the top 10 on the R&B chart, No. 36 on ''Billboard''′s Hot 100 chart, and No. 5 in the UK. Later albums by the group featured singers
Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
and
Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
. The live 1982 album ''
Royal Jam ''Royal Jam'' is a live recording by the jazz-funk band The Crusaders with B.B. King, Josie James and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall. Track listing All songs written by Joe Sample and Will Je ...
'' featured guitarist B. B. King, bassist
James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...
, and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
. Hooper left in 1983, and though Felder and Sample kept the group operating through the 1980s, the group's commercial success diminished. Felder and Henderson reunited in the mid-1990s as the Crusaders. Henderson later led a band called the Jazz Crusaders, in which Felder and Carlton also played, and Felder and Sample reunited as the Crusaders in 2003. Wayne Henderson died in Culver City, California on April 5, 2014; Joe Sample died in Houston, Texas on September 12, 2014; and Wilton Felder died in Whittier, California on September 27, 2015.


Discography


As the Jazz Crusaders

* '' Freedom Sound'' (
Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...
, 1961) * ''
Lookin' Ahead ''Lookin' Ahead'' is the second album by The Jazz Crusaders recorded in 1962 and released on Pacific Jazz Records.Stix Hooper ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) * ''
The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse ''The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse'' is a live album by The Crusaders (Houston group), The Jazz Crusaders recorded in 1962 and released on the Pacific Jazz Records, Pacific Jazz label.
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) * '' Tough Talk'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) * ''
Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) * '' Jazz Waltz'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) with
Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in ...
* '' Stretchin' Out'' (Pacific Jazz, 1964) * '' The Thing'' (Pacific Jazz, 1965) * '' Chile Con Soul'' (Pacific Jazz, 1965) * '' Live at the Lighthouse '66'' (Pacific Jazz, 1966) * ''
Talk That Talk ''Talk That Talk'' is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded while traveling for the Loud Tour between February and November 2011, and was origin ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1966) * '' The Festival Album'' (Pacific Jazz, 1966) * '' Uh Huh'' (Pacific Jazz, 1967) * '' Lighthouse '68'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968) * '' Powerhouse'' (Pacific Jazz, 1969) * '' Lighthouse '69'' (Pacific Jazz, 1969) * ''Give Peace a Chance'' (Liberty, 1970) * ''Old Socks New Shoes – New Socks Old Shoes'' (Chisa, 1970) Source:


As the Crusaders

* ''Pass the Plate'' (Chisa, 1971) * ''Hollywood'' (MoWest, 1972) * ''Crusaders 1'' (Blue Thumb, 1972) * ''The 2nd Crusade'' (Blue Thumb, 1973) * ''Unsung Heroes'' (Blue Thumb, 1973) * ''Scratch'' (Blue Thumb, 1974) * ''
Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American, naturally fruit-flavored, whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. W ...
'' (Blue Thumb, 1974) * ''
Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that syst ...
'' (Blue Thumb, 1975) * '' Those Southern Knights'' (Blue Thumb, 1976) * '' Free as the Wind'' (Blue Thumb, 1977) * ''Images'' (Blue Thumb, 1978) * '' Street Life'' (MCA, 1979) * ''Rhapsody and Blues'' (MCA, 1980) * ''Ongaku Kai - Live in Japan'' (Crusaders, 1981; GRP, 1993) * '' Standing Tall'' (MCA, 1981) * ''
Royal Jam ''Royal Jam'' is a live recording by the jazz-funk band The Crusaders with B.B. King, Josie James and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall. Track listing All songs written by Joe Sample and Will Je ...
'' (MCA, 1982) with
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
* ''Ghetto Blaster'' (MCA, 1984) * ''The Good and Bad Times'' (MCA, 1986) * ''Life in the Modern World'' (MCA, 1988) * ''Healing the Wounds'' (GRP, 1991) * ''Rural Renewal'' (Verve, 2003) * ''Live in Japan 2003'' (P.R.A., 2004)


As the Jazz Crusaders

n.b. (Wayne Henderson & Wilton Felder) * ''Happy Again'' (Sin-Drome, 1994) * ''Louisiana Hot Sauce'' (Sin-Drome, 1996) * ''Break'n Da Rulz!'' (Indigo Blue, 1998) * ''Power of Our Music: The Endangered Species'' (Indigo Blue, 2000) * ''Soul Axess'' (True Life, 2003) * ''Alive in South Africa'' (True Life, 2006)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crusaders, The American jazz ensembles from Texas Musical groups established in 1952 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Soul-jazz musicians Smooth jazz ensembles MCA Records artists Blue Note Records artists ABC Records artists Blue Thumb Records artists GRP Records artists 1952 establishments in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas