The Crusaders were an American jazz group that were successful from the 1960s to the 1990s. The group were 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. The band reached a commercial apex in 1979 with their hit single "Street Life", featuring lead vocals by Randy Crawford, and their accompanying album of the same name.
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", with guest vocalist
Randy Crawfordand the album also called Street Life was a hit, a year
later followed by Soul Shadows, sung by Bill Withers and the album
Rhapsody And Blues. 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.
1972- Crusaders 1 (2006)
1973- At Their Best (1992)
1974- Scratch (1997)
1975- Chain Reaction (1997)
1977- New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival April 19th 19776 Live (Remastered) (2016)
1979- Street Life (1996)
1980- Rhapsody And Blues (2004)
1986- The Good And Bad Times
1987- The Vocal Album (2012)
1988- Life In The Modern World
1991- Healing the Wounds
1997- Those Southern Knights
2003- Rural Renewal
