Jazz / Fusion, Crossover Jazz
Billy Rogers - Guitar
Dean Parks - Guitar
Joe Sample - Keyboards, Producer
Bernie Grundman Mastering
Larry DuPont Photography
Nahas Vigon
Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion
Pops Powell Bass
Richard Germinaro Design, Art Direction, Concept
Rik Pekkonen Mixing, Engineer
Robert "Pops" Popewell Bass
Robert Popwell Bass
Roland Bautista - Guitar
Stix Hooper Drums, Percussion, Producer
Stuart Kusher Design, Art Direction, Concept
The Crusaders Main Performer, Performer
Wilton Felder Producer, Saxophone, Mixing
The Crusaders' sound had changed by 1978 due to the decision of trombonist Wayne Henderson to become a fulltime producer, and the gradual dominance of funky R&B rhythms. Although the band (which consisted of keyboardist Joe Sample, Wilton Felder on tenor and soprano, drummer Stix Hooper and for this LP guitarist Billy Rogers and bassist Pops Popwell) now had a more conventional instrumentation, its music remained infectious and at least to an extent influenced by jazz. However none of the seven group originals on this little-known date are all that memorable. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
The Crusaders
Active Decades: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: 1960 in Houston, TX
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz, Fusion, Hard Bop, Jazz-Pop, Crossover Jazz
Back in 1954, Houston pianist Joe Sample teamed up with high school friends tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Stix Hooper to form the Swingsters. Within a short time, they were joined by trombonist Wayne Henderson, flutist Hubert Laws, and bassist Henry Wilson and the group became the Modern Jazz Sextet. With the move of Sample, Felder, Hooper, and Henderson to Los Angeles in 1960, the band (a quintet with the bass spot constantly changing) took on the name of the Jazz Crusaders. The following year they made their first recordings for Pacific Jazz and throughout the 1960s the group was a popular attraction, mixing together R&B and Memphis soul elements with hard bop; its trombone/tenor frontline became a trademark. By 1971, when all of the musicians were also busy with their own projects, it was decided to call the group simply the Crusaders so it would not be restricted to only playing jazz. After a few excellent albums during the early part of the decade (with guitarist Larry Carlton a strong asset), the group began to decline in quality. In 1975, the band's sound radically changed when Henderson departed to become a full-time producer. 1979's "Street Life" was a hit, but also a last hurrah. With Hooper's decision to leave in 1983, the group no longer sounded like the Crusaders and gradually disbanded. In the mid-'90s, Henderson and Felder had a reunion as the Crusaders but in reality only Joe Sample has had a strong solo career.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
