Crusaders

In the '50s the trombonist Wayne Henderson and the saxophonist and bass guitarist Wilton Felder (together with Joe Sample and Stix Hooper) co-founded the band The Modern Jazz Sextet. In later years the band would become known as The Nite Hawks, The Jazz Crusaders or simply The Crusaders. Over the years The Crusaders have sold more than 15 million albums and singles, including the mega-hit 'Street Life' (1979). The band's music is an 'extremely danceable' mix of rock, soul, jazz and funk.


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.

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