Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
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
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 ...
's hits "
I Want You Back
"I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...
" and "
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
" and on
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 ...
's "
Let's Get It On
''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.
Recording sessions for the album took pla ...
".
Biography
Felder was born on August 31, 1940, 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 ...
and studied music at
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...
.
Felder,
Wayne Henderson,
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 ...
, and
Stix Hooper
Stix or STIX may refer to:
People
* Stix Hooper (born 1938), American jazz musician
* Gary Stix, American journalist
* Thomas H. Stix (1924–2001), American physicist
* Christine Stix-Hackl (born 1957), Austrian jurist
Arts and entertainment ...
founded their group while in high school in Houston. The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead
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 ...
combo into a pioneering
jazz-rock
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
fusion group, with a definite
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 ...
influence. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continued to work in its later versions, which often featured other founding members.
Felder also worked as a
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
, mostly playing electric bass, for various soul and
R&B musicians, and was one of the in-house bass players for
Motown Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
, when the
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
opened operations in
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' ...
in the early 1970s. He played on
recordings by
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 ...
such as "
I Want You Back
"I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...
", "
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
" and "
The Love You Save
"The Love You Save" is a song recorded by the Jackson 5 for Motown Records. It was released as a single on May 13, 1970, and held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart in the US for six weeks and the number-one position on the ''Billboard ...
", as well as recordings by
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 ...
including "
Let's Get It On
''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.
Recording sessions for the album took pla ...
" and "
I Want You". He also played bass for soft rock groups like
Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...
. Also of note were his contributions to the
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
album ''
Paris 1919'',
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 ...
's ''
Pretzel Logic
''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in Wes ...
'' (1974), and
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
's ''
Piano Man'' and ''
Streetlife Serenade
''Streetlife Serenade'' is the third studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1974 by Columbia Records.
The album peaked at No. 35 on the US album charts, eventually selling more than one million copies. ...
'' albums. He was one of three bass players on
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 ...
's ''
Sail Away'' (1972) and
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
' ''
Diamonds & Rust
''Diamonds & Rust'' is the sixteenth studio album (and eighteenth overall) by American singer-songwriter Joan Baez, released in 1975. The album covered songs written or played by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne and ...
''. Felder also anchored
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s from
Grant Green
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...
,
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 ...
and
Michael Franks.
His album ''Secrets'', which prominently featured
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...
on vocals, reached No. 77 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
in 1985.
The album featured the minor hit, "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still be Looking Up to You", sung by Womack and Alltrinna Grayson.
Felder played a King Super 20 tenor sax with a metal 105/0 Berg Larsen mouthpiece. He also used
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
saxes. He played a
Fender Telecaster Bass
The Fender Telecaster Bass (also referred as the Tele Bass) is an electric bass introduced in 1968 by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. With few physical changes through the 1970s, it was discontinued in 1979 and reissued in 2007 by Fender ...
, and also played
Aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
bass guitars.
Felder died in 2015 at his home in
Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...
from
multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...
.
[ He was 75.]
Discography
As leader/co-leader
* ''Bullitt
''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
* ''We All Have a Star'' (MCA, 1978)
* ''Inherit the Wind'' (MCA, 1980)
* ''Gentle Fire'' (MCA, 1983)
* ''Secrets'' (MCA, 1985)
* ''Love Is a Rush'' (MCA, 1987)
* ''Nocturnal Moods'' (PAR, 1991)
* ''Forever, Always'' (PAR, 1992)
* ''Lets Spend Some Time'' (BCS, 2005)
With The (Jazz) Crusaders
* '' Freedom Sound'' (Pacific Jazz, 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
* '' 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)
As sideman
With Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
* ''Ethiopian Knights
''Ethiopian Knights'' is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample and others, recorded for the Blue Note label in 1971.[Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...]
* ''Diamonds & Rust
''Diamonds & Rust'' is the sixteenth studio album (and eighteenth overall) by American singer-songwriter Joan Baez, released in 1975. The album covered songs written or played by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne and ...
'' (A&M, 1975)
* '' Blowin' Away'' (Portrait, 1977)
With John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
* '' Paris 1919'' (Reprise, 1972)
With Michael Franks
* '' The Art of Tea'' (Reprise, 1976)
* '' Sleeping Gypsy'' (Warner Bros., 1977)
With Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
* '' Free Ride'' (Pablo, 1977) composed and arranged by Lalo Schifrin
Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...
With Grant Green
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...
* ''Shades of Green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint b ...
'' (Blue Note, 1971)
* '' Live at The Lighthouse'' (Blue Note, 1972)
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of " Misty".
Career
Holmes's first album, on Pacific ...
* '' Welcome Home'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
With Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...
* '' Flash Harry'' (Mercury, 1980)
With 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 ...
* ''Let's Get It On
''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.
Recording sessions for the album took pla ...
'' (Tamla, 1973)
* '' I Want You'' (Motown, 1976)
With Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...
* ''The Speed of Grace'' (MCA, 1994)
With Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
* ''The Painter'' (United Artists, 1976)
With Solomon Burke
* ''Electronic Magnetism'' (MGM, 1971)
With Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
* ''Slow Down World
''Slow Down World'' is the thirteenth studio album (fifteenth overall) by British singer/songwriter Donovan, released in the US ( Epic PE 33945) in May 1976 and the UK (Epic SEPC 86011) on 4 June 1976.
Background
Over his past few album release ...
'' (Epic, 1976)
* '' Lady of the Stars'' (RCA, 1984)
With Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...
* ''For Everyman
''For Everyman'' is the second album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). The album peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and the single " Redneck Friend" reached number 85 on the ''Bi ...
'' (Asylum, 1973)
With Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for ...
* ''Jennifer
Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to:
People
*Jennifer (given name)
* Jenifer (singer), French pop singer
* Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer
* Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
* Daniel Jenifer
Film and tele ...
'' (Reprise, 1972)
With Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
* ''Memphis Jackson
''Memphis Jackson'' is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances with the Ray Brown Big Band recorded in 1969 for the Impulse! label. '' (Impulse!, 1969)
With Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
* ''Private Dancer
''Private Dancer'' is the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released on May 29, 1984, through Capitol Records and was her first album released through the label.
After several challenging years of going solo after divorcing Ike T ...
'' (Capitol, 1984)
With John Klemmer
John T. Klemmer (born July 3, 1946) is an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, and arranger.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began playing guitar at the age of five and alto saxophone at the age of 11. His other ear ...
* '' Constant Throb'' (Impulse!, 1971)
* ''Waterfalls
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...
'' (Impulse!, 1972)
* ''Magic and Movement
''Magic and Movement'' is a live album by American saxophonist and composer John Klemmer featuring studio enhanced live performances recorded in Los Angeles for the Impulse! label. '' (Impulse!, 1974)
With Charles Kynard
Charles Kynard (20 February 1933 – 8 July 1979) was an American soul jazz/ acid jazz organist born in St. Louis, Missouri.
Kynard first played piano then switched to organ and led a trio in Kansas City including Tex Johnson (flute, sax) ...
* ''Reelin' with the Feelin'
''Reelin' with the Feelin is an album by organist Charles Kynard which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Prestige label.Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979)
was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...
* '' Stay in Love'' (Epic, 1977)
With Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
* '' Stop and Smell the Roses'' (RCA, 1981)
With Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
* ''Can't Hide Love
"You Can't Hide Love" is a single by soul group Creative Source released in 1973 on Sussex Records. The song reached No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart.
Overview
"You Can't Hide Love" was produced by Michael Stokes and composed b ...
'' (Blue Note, 1976)
With Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
* '' Piano Man'' (Columbia, 1973)
* ''Streetlife Serenade
''Streetlife Serenade'' is the third studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1974 by Columbia Records.
The album peaked at No. 35 on the US album charts, eventually selling more than one million copies. ...
'' (Columbia, 1974)
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 ...
* '' Now We May Begin'' (Warner Bros., 1980)
With 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 ...
* ''For the Roses
''For the Roses'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released in November 1972, between her two biggest commercial and critical successes—''Blue'' and ''Court and Spark''. In 2007 it was one of 25 rec ...
'' (Asylum, 1972)
* ''Court and Spark
''Court and Spark'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in January 1974, it infuses the folk rock style of her previous albums with jazz elements.
It was an immediate commercial and critical success— ...
'' (Asylum, 1974)
* ''The Hissing of Summer Lawns
''The Hissing of Summer Lawns'' is the seventh studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1975. The sessions featured backing from members of the jazz groups the L.A. Express and the Jazz Crusaders.
The lead singl ...
'' (Asylum, 1975)
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 ...
* ''Midnight Believer
''Midnight Believer'' is the twenty-fifth studio blues album by B.B. King, released in 1978 on ABC Records. The album reached No. 27 on the '' Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart.
Overview
''Midnight Believer'' was produced by Stewart Levine. Ar ...
'' (ABC, 1978)
* '' Take It Home'' (ABC, 1979)
With Wendy Waldman
Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.
Biography Early life
Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner w ...
* ''Love Has Got Me'' (Warner Bros., 1973)
With 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 ...
* '' Sail Away'' (Reprise, 1972)
With Shuggie Otis
Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Otis's composition "Strawberry Letter 23" (as recorded by The Brothers Johnson) topped ...
* '' Here Comes Shuggie Otis'' (Epic, 1970)
* '' Freedom Flight'' (Epic, 1971)
With Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...
* '' Cameo'' (ABC, 1973)
With Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer.
Early life
Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...
* '' King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa'' (World Pacific/Liberty, 1970)
With Seals & Crofts
Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl" ...
* '' Summer Breeze'' (Warner Bros., 1972)
* '' Diamond Girl'' (Warner Bros., 1973)
* ''I'll Play for You
''I'll Play For You'' is Seals & Crofts' seventh studio album. The title cut reached #18 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #4 on the Adult Contemporary charts in the summer of 1975. It was equally successful in Canada (Pop #28, AC #2). It a ...
'' (Warner Bros., 1975)
* '' Get Closer'' (Warner Bros., 1976)
* '' Sudan Village'' (Warner Bros., 1976)
With Jimmy Smith
* '' Root Down'' (Verve, 1972)
With 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 ...
* ''Pretzel Logic
''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in Wes ...
'' (ABC, 1974)
With Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
* ''California Soul
"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels.
Other recordings
*Nick Ashford then released his own vers ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
With 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 ...
* ''Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
'' (Chisa, 1970)
References
External links
*
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Wilton Felder
isolated bass parts on Jackson 5 hits
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felder, Wilton
1940 births
2015 deaths
American rhythm and blues bass guitarists
American rock bass guitarists
American session musicians
American jazz bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
Deaths from multiple myeloma
Deaths from cancer in California
Musicians from Houston
Soul-jazz musicians
Guitarists from Los Angeles
Guitarists from Texas
20th-century American bass guitarists
American male jazz musicians
The Crusaders members
20th-century American male musicians
The Love Unlimited Orchestra members
20th-century American saxophonists