Joe Sample & the Jazz Crusaders

Related Content

• Twin Cities still a top 10 metro for new college grads, study says
  March 22, 2013
• Taylor Swift unveils 2013 U.S. tour -- St. Paul in September
  October 29, 2012
• Beyonce unveils Mrs. Carter World Tour 2013 dates -- St. Paul in July
  February 3, 2013
• Mark Dayton apologizes for comparing troubled football players to soldiers back from war
  July 19, 2012
• The Postal Service extend tour dates -- St. Paul in August
  March 5, 2013

More About

• Joe Sample
• Wayne Henderson
• Stix Hooper
• Wilton Felder
• Houston (Texas)

Originating in a Houston high-school marching band in the 1950s, the Jazz Crusaders came up with an innovative blend of hard bop and Texas R&B, meeting with modest commercial success. Then around 1970, shortening their name to the Crusaders and stirring in elements of pop, funk, and rock, the band scored a slew of hits throughout the decade, including "Put It Where You Want It," and "Street Life." Although a lot of musicians have played under the Crusaders' moniker over the years, the essential band remains pianist Joe Sample, tenor sax/bassist Wilton Felder, drummer Stix Hooper, and trombonist Wayne Henderson. Sample, who has had a successful solo career, and Henderson, who left the group to concentrate on production, have both led variations of the band, but haven't played together under the Crusaders' name for more than three decades. Until now. Although still highly anticipated, the reunion shows lack Hooper, who has given up professional music, and Felder, who reportedly began rehearsals with the reunited group but has experienced partial paralysis due to growths on his spine. The lineup at the Dakota will be Sample, Henderson, saxophonist Gerald Albright, bassist Reggie Sullivan, and drummer Moyes Lucas, who also plays in Sample's trio.
Thursdays, Fridays, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Starts: Sept. 16. Continues through Sept. 17, 2010