Crusaders

The Crusaders - Crusaders 1 (1972) Remastered Reissue 2006  Music

Posted by Designol at Sept. 18, 2023
The Crusaders - Crusaders 1 (1972) Remastered Reissue 2006

The Crusaders - Crusaders 1 (1972) Remastered Reissue 2006
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 438 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 197 Mb | Scans included
Label: Blue Thumb | # BTS 6001, 0602517040663 | Time: 01:17:41
Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Soul Jazz, Crossover Jazz

In 1971, the Jazz Crusaders reinvented themselves for the first time. First they dropped the word "jazz" from their moniker, and secondly they wholeheartedly embraced electric bass and guitars in their mix. Their new "debut" is a wonder of jazz-funk as a natural evolution out of hard bop and soul-jazz. While the wonderful horn interplay between saxophonist Wilton Felder and trombonist Wayne Henderson is still everywhere evident, the badass, beat-driven rhythm section has Joe Sample playing funky Rhodes piano against Chuck Rainey's basslines and an orgy of guitars – led by Larry Carlton's brilliant lead work. These are all anchored by Stix Hooper's never out-of-the-pocket, popping kit work. Certainly other acts had used the same instrumentation, but the sheer sophistication in the Crusaders compositions and charts combined with their dedication to grooved-out accessibility – and Stewart Levine's magnificent production – made them a singular entity even in the up-and-coming jazz-rock fusion scene.

The Crusaders - Free As The Wind (SHM-CD) (1977/2023)  Music

Posted by Rtax at July 31, 2023
The Crusaders - Free As The Wind (SHM-CD) (1977/2023)

The Crusaders - Free As The Wind (SHM-CD) (1977/2023)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks, cue, log) - 241 MB MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 98 MB
42:49 | Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz | Label: MCA Records

There's a terrific reason why the triple-CD Crusaders retrospective The Golden Years included six of Free as the Wind's eight tracks – the material. Indeed, side one of the LP version may be the strongest single side of original tunes that the band ever put together. It opens with Joe Sample's driving, tense title cut, and flows flawlessly through Stix Hooper's subtly funky "I Felt the Love," Pops Popswell's infectiously finger-popping "The Way We Was" (a high point in the Crusaders' groove collection), and Larry Carlton's steamy vehicle for Wilton Felder, "Nite Crawler." Even the two tracks that the box set left out – the galvanic "Feel It," driven by Sample's clavinet and Hooper's tom-toms, and "River Rat" – are as funky as you can stand it. And from out of the blue, Sample concludes the album with a lovely, wistful tune that may have become a standard, "It Happens Everyday." When the material is this good, everything falls into place from there; the grooves are deeper, the soloing by all five Crusaders is more melodic and probing, and while Sample provides a few brass and string arrangements, this is just harmless decoration, neither a necessity nor a hindrance. This would be the Crusaders' high-water mark in the post-Wayne Henderson years, and it can stand tall with anything they've done.

The Crusaders - Way Back Home [4CD Box Set] (1996)  Music

Posted by JET 1 at Dec. 16, 2021
The Crusaders - Way Back Home [4CD Box Set] (1996)

The Crusaders - Way Back Home [4CD Box Set] (1996)
XLD Rip | FLAC (Tracks) +CUE, LOG | 1.61 GB | Scans
Genre: Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Soul-Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Jazz Rock | Label: Blue Thumb Records | Catalog Number: BTD-4700

The music on this four-CD box set is mostly excellent, and this is not a bad sampler of the recordings of the (Jazz) Crusaders, but there are some problems. The 1961-70 group is covered much too quickly in the first disc, and the last two discs jump around chronologically throughout the '70s. The lack of recording dates is rather inexcusable, and the odd programming makes it difficult to trace the popular band's evolution. On the other hand, the extensive liner notes by Quincy Troupe are refreshingly honest, and many of the high points of the group's existence (including "The Young Rabbits," "Freedom Sound," "Eleanor Rigby," "Put It Where You Want It," their classic rendition of "So Far Away," and "Street Life") are included. Worth picking up by beginners, although veteran collectors will prefer to get the more complete original sets instead.
Jazz Crusaders Featuring Wayne Henderson - Kick The Jazz (2008)

Jazz Crusaders Featuring Wayne Henderson - Kick The Jazz (2008)
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks) +CUE, LOG | 520 MB | Scans
Genre: Jazz, Soul Jazz, Funk, Rap | Label: WMGW Records | Catalog Number: 00241

When Wayne Henderson left the Crusaders in 1975, he moved on to a successful solo recording career, and became an in-demand producer as well. In the 1990s, he snagged the "Jazz Crusaders" name (the Crusaders' original moniker) for a reunion project with drummer Stix Hooper and saxophonist Wilton Felder. Since that time, Henderson's been out there on tour, under the Jazz Crusaders moniker, with whatever band he happens to have under his control at the time. To make matters worse, the Crusaders name has been resurrected a couple of times by Joe Sample with Felder and Hooper.

The Jazz Crusaders - Happy Again (1995)  Music

Posted by Designol at Dec. 28, 2022
The Jazz Crusaders - Happy Again (1995)

The Jazz Crusaders - Happy Again (1995)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 453 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 168 Mb | Scans included
Crossover Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Fusion | Label: Sin-Drome | # 99.5032.2 | 01:05:54

When trombonist/producer Wayne Henderson, pianist/keyboardist Joe Sample, sax-man Wilton Felder, and drummer Stix Hooper changed their name from the Jazz Crusaders to the Crusaders back in 1971, it signaled a more R&B-minded direction for the group – they were always funky, but in the '70s, they became even funkier. And so, the names the Crusaders and the Jazz Crusaders came to stand for two different things – if the Jazz Crusaders were synonymous with a funky yet acoustic-oriented approach to hard bop (à la Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), the Crusaders were about electric-oriented jazz-funk and fusion. In 1995, Henderson (who left the Crusaders in 1975) resurrected the name the Jazz Crusaders and produced Happy Again for the small, Los Angeles-based Sin-drome Records.

The Crusaders - Images (1978) Remastered 2009  Music

Posted by Designol at Jan. 19, 2023
The Crusaders - Images (1978) Remastered 2009

The Crusaders - Images (1978) Remastered 2009
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 266 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 110 Mb | Scans included
Crossover Jazz, Fusion, Jazz-Funk | Label: Verve | # 0602517995710 | Time: 00:39:44

Possessing not the greatest album sleeve in history - "Images" was nonetheless a bit of a Jazz-Funk peach. Produced by "Stix" Hooper, Wilton Felder & Joe Sample for "Crusader Productions, Inc." and mastered by long-standing expert Bernie Grundman, it followed so much of their Seventies output - really well-produced instrumental funky tracks followed by mellow ones that filled both the floor and the heart at one and the same time. Remastered from the original tapes by KEVIN REEVES at Universal Mastering in the States, it now sounds FABULOUS - really clear and defined - and virtually hiss-free. After a whole decade and umpteen albums of their particular type of funk & jazz, the same team that handled "Images" would finally hit paydirt a year later in 1979 with the global smash of "Street Life" and make Randy Crawford a star.

The Crusaders - Chain Reaction (1975)  Music

Posted by Designol at Oct. 29, 2022
The Crusaders - Chain Reaction (1975)

The Crusaders - Chain Reaction (1975)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 250 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 106 Mb | Scans included
Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Crossover Jazz | Label: MCA | # MCAD-1648 | Time: 00:40:36

One of the tastiest concoctions of the mid-'70s jazz-fusion era, Chain Reaction finds the Crusaders at the top of their form. The compositions are both accessible and memorable, and the playing is uniformly excellent. Guitarist Larry Carlton delivers some of his finest licks and funkified rhythm work. Wayne Henderson shows there is a place in fusion for the trombone. Wilton Felder does double duty, delivering smoking saxophone lines and funky bass riffs. Joe Sample's Fender Rhodes piano provides a solid chordal foundation and great solos. And the stickman, Stix Hooper, keeps the groove solid. The band employs a variety of rhythms and tempos, and gives the members plenty of room to strut their individual and collective stuff. In fact, "collective" may be the key word here, for this is the sound of a band, not just a group of guys thrown together for a recording session. Chain Reaction was one of the albums that helped lure young, rock and soul-oriented listeners over to check out the jazz side, and should not be missed by those interested in the more accessible, funky side of fusion.

The Jazz Crusaders - Lookin' Ahead (1962) Reissue 2014  Music

Posted by Designol at Jan. 21, 2023
The Jazz Crusaders - Lookin' Ahead (1962) Reissue 2014

The Jazz Crusaders - Lookin' Ahead (1962) Reissue 2014
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 171 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 102 Mb | Scans included
Hard Bop, Soul-Jazz | Label: Hallmark | # 715252 | Time: 00:35:39

The Jazz Crusaders second album for Pacific Jazz, Lookin Ahead features the core four members of the group (Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson, Wilton Felder and Stix Hooper), with bassist Jimmy Bond rounding out the sound. Lookin Ahead showcases what was already a signature sound for the group, with the tenor saxophone and trombone leading many of the songs, although Joe Samples piano playing holds much of the material together. The group wrote seven of the albums nine cuts, including The Young Rabbits, which would become something of a staple for the Jazz Crusaders during the 1960s, being much revered at their live shows. The two covers include Tonight, from the musical West Side Story, and Song Of India, a classical piece by Rimsky-Korsakov arranged by Joe Sample. Along with their debut album Freedom Sound (also available on Hallmark as 713822) the Jazz Crusaders were at the forefront of the soul jazz scene in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. Their relevance and importance continued to grow throughout the rest of the decade.

The Crusaders - Live In Japan (1981) Reissue 1993  Music

Posted by Designol at Jan. 21, 2024
The Crusaders - Live In Japan (1981) Reissue 1993

The Crusaders - Live In Japan (1981) Reissue 1993
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 470 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 201 Mb | Scans included
Fusion, Jazz-Funk, Soul Jazz | Label: GRP Records | # GRP97462 | Time: 01:18:06

This CD contains selections from a triumphant Japanese tour which saw three-fourths of the original lineup augmented by such guest stars as guitarists Barry Finnerty and Roland Bautista, percussionist Rafael Cruz, and bassist Alphonso Johnson. But the interaction and contributions of Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, and Stix Hooper make this memorable, plus the fact that this is the first time the complete concert has ever been available on a domestic release. It's really a "greatest-hits live" CD, with such familiar numbers as "Spiral," "Rainbow Seeker," "So Far Away" and "Put It Where You Want It" part of the menu. While not in the class of such classic releases as 1, Scratch, or Second Crusade, this is still a welcome addition to the legacy of a sorely underrated group.
The Jazz Crusaders - Old Socks, New Shoes... New Socks, Old Shoes (1970) [Reissue 2008] (Re-up)

The Jazz Crusaders - Old Socks, New Shoes… New Socks, Old Shoes (1970) [Reissue 2008]
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 259 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 92 MB | Covers - 26 MB
Genre: Jazz-Funk, Soul Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (0602517654365)

Old Socks, New Shoes… New Socks, Old Shoes was the final album by the Jazz Crusaders. Immediately thereafter they dropped the word "jazz" from their name, leaving them the Crusaders and most of the rest is history. This killer set was released on the Chisa label in 1970 and distributed by Motown. While the Jazz Crusaders had long made then-current popular songs part of their repertoire, and had moved from their hard bop origins into the soul-jazz groove years before, this disc was a shock, and sounded like a different band - almost. For starters, pianist Joe Sample moved over the Rhodes for the majority for this date (he is still one of the greatest voices on this strange, imprecise instrument), and along with drummer Stix Hooper, saxophonist Wilton Felder, and trombonist Wayne Henderson, guitarists Arthur Adams and Freddie Robinson helped out on bass and guitar, respectively…