The Crusaders, llamados originalmente The Jazz Crusaders. es un grupo
norteamericano de soul jazz, jazz fusión y funk, creado en 1961 y que
han editado más de 40 álbumes.
El grupo "The Jazz Crusaders" fue formado por el trombonista Wayne
Henderson, el saxofonista Wilton Felder, el teclista Joe Sample y el
baterista Stix Hooper, a los que se unieron el guitarrista Roy Gaines y
el contrabajista Jimmy Bond, en 1961,1 aunque ya con anterioridad habían
trabajado juntos, llegando a grabar un par de singles, bajo el nombre
de "The Nite Hawks". Todos ellos eran originarios de Houston (Texas),
aunque residían en California, siendo muy activos en la escena de jazz
de la Costa Oeste. Su primer disco se llamó The Freedom Sound y fue
publicado por el sello Pacific Jazz, que sería su compañía hasta 1969.
El estilo del grupo, en esta época, oscilaba alrededor del funky jazz.
Época de mayor éxito.
En 1971, al escorarse su música hacía el r&b y el pop, mofidicaron
su nombre eliminando la palabra "jazz" y adoptando un estilo más cercano
al funk, incorporando a la banda al guitarrista Larry Carlton y al
bajista Robert Popwell. La nueva tendencia crossover de la banda, hizo
que sus discos comenzaran a aparecer en las listas de ventas de
Billboard, consiguiendo su mayor éxito con el álbum "Street life"
(1979), que consiguió alcanzar el nº 36 en el Billboard Hot 100, y su
single entró en el Top 10 de R&B. Durante su época de mayor éxito,
The Crusaders trabajaron como músicos de respaldo a un gran número de
artistas, como Marvin Gaye, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen o Joni Mitchell.
En 1975, Henderson dejó la banda para proseguir su carrera como músico y
como productor discográfico. Más tarde, 1983, Hooper también abandonó
al grupo. Estos cambios modificaron la línea musical de la banda, que
acabó por desaparecer a comienzos de la década de 1990. Sin embargo, en
1995, Wayne Henderson, junto a Wilton Felder y Larry Carlton, rehizo la
banda para grabar una serie de discos, bajo el nombre nuevamente de
"Jazz Crusaders", aunque con poca relación musical con el grupo
original. La banda vuelve a deshacerse a comienzos de la década de 2000.
En 2003, serán Joe Sample y Stix Hooper, junto con Felder, quienes
revivan al grupo para grabar un disco, en el que intervienen como
guitarristas Eric Clapton y Ray Parker, bajo el nombre de "The
Crusaders". La banda no publica más discos, pero en 2010 se produce una
reunión de Sample, Felder y Henderson (sin Hooper), para realizar una
gira. Wiki
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The Crusaders were an American music group popular in the early 1970s
known for their amalgamated jazz, pop, and soul sound. Since 1961, forty
albums have been credited to the group (some live and compilations), 19
of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" (1961–1970).
In 1960, following the demise of a few short-lived Houston-based groups
called The Swingsters and the Nite Hawks, Joe Sample (piano), Stix
Hooper (drums), Wilton Felder (saxophone), and Wayne Henderson
(trombone), relocated to Los Angeles, CA. After changing their name to
"The Jazz Crusaders," the group signed with Pacific Jazz Records, where
they would remain throughout the 1960s. Employing a two-manned
front-line horn section (trombone and tenor saxophone), the group's
sound was rooted in hard bop, with an emphasis on R&B and soul.
The group shortened their name to "The Crusaders" in 1971, and adopted a
jazz-funk style.They also incorporated the electric bass and electric
guitar into their music. Bass guitarist Robert "Pops" Popwell and
guitarist Larry Carlton joined the band, and featured on the group's
albums throughout most of the 1970s. With this new style came increased
crossover appeal, and the group's recordings started to appear on the
Billboard pop charts. The height of the group's commercial success came
with 1979's Street Life, with Randy Crawford as featured singer, which
peaked at No. 18 on the pop album charts and the title track from the
album made the Top 10 on the R&B chart and No. 36 on Billboard′s Hot
100 chart.
In 1975, following the release of their 28th album (their ninth as The
Crusaders), Henderson left the group to pursue a full-time career as a
producer. His departure created a void, permanently changing the
character of the group. Another founding member, Hooper, left the group
in 1983, thus signaling the end to the group's most popular period.
Three more albums were recorded in the mid-1980s; however by the 1990s,
The Crusaders, for the most part, had disbanded, with a comprehensive
discography behind them.
The Crusaders performing at Knebworth Park, UK, as part of the Capitol Radio Jazz Festival, 1982
In 1991, The Crusaders (with Sample and Felder the only original members
present) released Healing the Wounds. The album peaked at No. 1 on the
Top Contemporary Jazz chart and No. 174 on the Billboard 200. The group
did not release any more albums during the decade, as Sample focused on a
solo career.
Henderson, who had left the group in 1975, revived the "Jazz Crusaders"
moniker (despite Sample's objections) for 1995's Happy Again. The lineup
for Happy Again included founding member Wilton Felder and former
Crusaders guitarist Larry Carlton. The new Jazz Crusaders released a
series of recordings in the late 1990s, but the music bore little
resemblance to the acoustic, hard bop style of the original group,
instead emphasizing synthesizers, sampling, electronics, and drum
machines in the style of smooth jazz, rap music, or contemporary
R&B.
In 2003, founding members Sample, Felder and Hooper revived The
Crusaders and released Rural Renewal. Ray Parker Jr. and Eric Clapton
played guitar on the album. That same year, the Henderson-led Jazz
Crusaders released Soul Axess.
In April 2010, Joe Sample announced a reunion tour with Wayne Henderson
and Wilton Felder (but not Stix Hooper) - the first reunion of these
founding members of the Jazz Crusaders since 1974. Henderson died on
April 5, 2014. Joe Sample died in Houston on September 12, 2014. Felder
died on September 27, 2015. Wiki