Joe Sample
Joe Sample | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Joseph Leslie Sample |
Born | Houston, Texas, U.S. | February 1, 1939
Died | September 12, 2014 Houston, Texas, U.S. | (aged 75)
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, composer |
Instrument(s) | Piano, keyboards |
Years active | 1950s–2014 |
Labels | Blue Thumb, MCA, GRP, Warner Bros., Verve, ABC |
Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American pianist, keyboard player, and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply the Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 (not including the 2003 reunion album Rural Renewal).
Beginning in the 1970s, he enjoyed a successful solo career and guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B. B. King, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Anita Baker, and the Supremes. Sample incorporated jazz, gospel, blues, Latin, and classical forms into his music.
Biography
Sample was born in Houston, Texas, on February 1, 1939. Sample began to play the piano at age 5. He was a student of the organist and pianist Curtis Mayo.
In high school in the 1950s, Sample teamed up with friends saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer "Stix" Hooper to form a group called the Swingsters. While studying piano at Texas Southern University, Sample met and added trombonist Wayne Henderson and several other players to the Swingsters, which became the Modern Jazz Sextet and then the Jazz Crusaders,[1] in emulation of one of the leading progressive jazz bands of the day, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Sample never took a degree from the university; instead, in 1960, he and the Jazz Crusaders made the move from Houston to Los Angeles. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
The group quickly found opportunities on the West Coast, making its first recording, Freedom Sounds in 1961 and releasing up to four albums a year over much of the 1960s. The Jazz Crusaders played at first in the dominant hard bop style of the day, standing out by virtue of their unusual front-line combination of saxophone (played by Wilton Felder) and Henderson's trombone. Another distinctive quality was the funky, rhythmically appealing acoustic piano playing of Sample, who helped steer the group's sound into a fusion between jazz and soul[2] in the late 1960s. The Jazz Crusaders became a strong concert draw during those years.
While Sample and his band mates continued to work together, he and the other band members pursued individual work as well. In 1969 Sample made his first recording under his own name; Fancy Dance featured the pianist as part of a jazz trio.[1] In the 1970s, as the Jazz Crusaders became simply the Crusaders and branched out into popular sounds, Sample became known as a Los Angeles studio musician, appearing on recordings by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, B. B. King, Joe Cocker, Minnie Riperton, Anita Baker and The Supremes. In 1975 he went into the studios with jazz legends Ray Brown on bass, and drummer Shelly Manne to produce a then state-of-the-art recording direct to disc entitled The Three. About this time Blue Note Records reissued some of the early work by the Jazz Crusaders as "The Young Rabbits". This was a compilation of their recordings done between 1962 and 1968.
The electric keyboard was fairly new in the sixties, and Sample became one of the instrument's pioneers. He began to use the electric piano while the group retained their original name, and the group hit a commercial high-water mark with the hit single "Street Life" and the album of the same name in 1979. In 1978 he recorded Swing Street Café with guitarist David T. Walker.
The Crusaders, after losing several key members, broke up after recording Life in the Modern World for the GRP label in 1987. Despite the disbanding of the Crusaders, the members would join each other to record periodically over the years, releasing Healing the Wounds in the early 1990s. Felder, Hooper, and Sample recorded their first album, called Rural Renewal, as the reunited Crusaders group in 2003 and played a concert in Japan in 2004.
Since Sample's Fancy Dance (1969), he has recorded several solo albums, including the George Duke produced Sample This.
GRP also released Joe Sample Collection, and a three-disc Crusaders Collection, as testament to Sample's enduring legacy. Some of the pianist's recent recordings are The Song Lives On (1999), featuring duets with singer Lalah Hathaway, and The Pecan Tree (2002), a tribute to his hometown of Houston, where he relocated in 1994. His 2004 album on Verve, Soul Shadows, paid tribute to Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton, and pre-jazz bandleader James Reese Europe. In 2007 he recorded Feeling Good with vocalist Randy Crawford. In the mid-seventies, Crusaders added guitarist Larry Carlton.
Sample appeared on stage at The Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 28 May 2000, playing keyboard solo on George Benson's Deeper Than You Think. This concert was recorded and a DVD entitled George Benson: Absolutely Live was subsequently released. A studio version of Deeper Than You Think was recorded featuring Joe Sample in New York in May 1999 during sessions for a Benson collection which took the title Absolutely Benson. Fans again believe there may have been other collaborations of Sample - Benson which remain in the vaults unreleased.
Some of his works were featured on The Weather Channel's "Local on the 8s" segments and his song "Rainbow Seeker" is included in their 2008 compilation release, The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II. Nicole Kidman sang his song "One Day I'll Fly Away" in the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge! The very popular "In All My Wildest Dreams", also from the 1978 album Rainbow Seeker, was sampled on Tupac's "Dear Mama", De la Soul's "WRMS's Dedication to the Bitty", Toni Braxton's "What's Good" and Arrested Development's "Africa's Inside Me".
Sample died of mesothelioma in Houston, Texas, at the age of 75. His survivors included his son, bassist Nicklas Sample (with ex-wife Marianne), who is a member of the Coryell Auger Sample Trio featuring Julian Coryell and Karma Auger.[3][4][5][6]
At the time of his death, Sample had been working on a project, "Quadroon," with singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke.[7]
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Joe Sample among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[8]
Discography
As leader
Title | Year | Label |
---|---|---|
Fancy Dance [originally titled Try Us] | 1969 | Gazell |
The Three (with Ray Brown, Shelly Manne) | 1976 | East Wind |
Rainbow Seeker | 1978 | ABC/MCA; Blue Thumb |
Carmel | 1979 | ABC/MCA; Blue Thumb |
Voices in the Rain | 1981 | MCA Jazz |
Swing Street Cafe (with David T. Walker) | 1981 | Crusaders; Verve |
The Hunter | 1983 | MCA Jazz |
Oasis | 1985 | MCA Jazz |
Roles | 1987 | MCA Jazz |
Spellbound | 1989 | Warner Bros. |
Ashes to Ashes | 1990 | Warner Bros. |
Invitation | 1993 | Warner Bros. |
Did You Feel That? | 1994 | Warner Bros. |
Old Places Old Faces | 1996 | Warner Bros. |
Sample This | 1997 | Warner Bros. |
The Song Lives On (with Lalah Hathaway) | 1999 | GRP |
The Pecan Tree | 2002 | Verve |
Soul Shadows | 2004 | Verve |
Creole Love Call (with Nils Landgren) | 2006 | ACT |
Feeling Good (with Randy Crawford & Steve Gadd) | 2007 | PRA |
No Regrets (with Randy Crawford & Steve Gadd) | 2009 | PRA |
Live (with Randy Crawford, Steve Gadd & Nicklas Sample) | 2012 | PRA |
Children of the Sun (with NDR Big band & Steve Gadd) | 2014 | PRA |
Christmas with Friends (with India Arie) | 2015 | Motown |
With The (Jazz) Crusaders
- Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz, 1961)
- Lookin' Ahead (Pacific Jazz, 1962)
- The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse (Pacific Jazz, 1962)
- Tough Talk (Pacific Jazz, 1963)
- Heat Wave (Pacific Jazz, 1963)
- Jazz Waltz (Pacific Jazz, 1963) with Les McCann
- Stretchin' Out (Pacific Jazz, 1964)
- The Thing (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
- Chile Con Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
- Live at the Lighthouse '66 (Pacific Jazz, 1966)
- Talk That Talk (Pacific Jazz, 1966)
- The Festival Album (Pacific Jazz, 1966)
- Uh Huh (Pacific Jazz, 1967)
- Lighthouse '68 (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
- Powerhouse (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
- Lighthouse '69 (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
- Give Peace a Chance (Liberty, 1970)
- Old Socks New Shoes – New Socks Old Shoes (Chisa, 1970)
- Pass the Plate (Chisa, 1971)
- Hollywood (MoWest, 1972)
- Crusaders 1 (Blue Thumb, 1972)
- The 2nd Crusade (Blue Thumb, 1973)
- Unsung Heroes (Blue Thumb, 1973)
- Scratch (Blue Thumb, 1974)
- Southern Comfort (Blue Thumb, 1974)
- Chain Reaction (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1975)
- Those Southern Knights (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1976)
- Free as the Wind (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1977)
- Images (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1978)
- Street Life (MCA, 1979)
- Rhapsody and Blues (MCA, 1980)
- Standing Tall (MCA, 1981)
- Live in Japan (Crusaders, 1981; GRP, 1993)
- Royal Jam (MCA, 1982) with B.B. King
- Ghetto Blaster (MCA, 1984)
- The Good and the Bad Times (MCA, 1986)
- Life in the Modern World (MCA, 1988)
- Healing the Wounds (GRP, 1991)
- Rural Renewal (Verve, 2003)
With CreoleJoe Band
- CreoleJoe Band (PRA, 2013)
As sideman
With Gene Ammons
- Free Again (Prestige, 1971)[9]
With Kenny Burrell
- 'Round Midnight (Fantasy, 1972)[10]
With Michael Franks
- The Art of Tea (Reprise, 1975)
- Welcome Home (World Pacific, 1968)
With Milt Jackson
- Memphis Jackson (Impulse!, 1969)
With Al Jarreau
- Tenderness (Reprise, 1994)
With B. B. King
- Midnight Believer (ABC, 1978)
- Take It Home (MCA, 1979)
With B. B. King and Eric Clapton
- Riding with the King (except tracks 3, 4, 8) (Reprise, 2000)[11]
With Harold Land
- The Peace-Maker (Cadet, 1968)
With Bobby Hutcherson
- San Francisco (Blue Note, 1971)
With Carmen McRae
- Can't Hide Love (Blue Note, 1976)
With Blue Mitchell
- Blues' Blues (Mainstream, 1972)
- Graffiti Blues (Mainstream, 1973)
With Joni Mitchell
- Court and Spark (Elektra, 1974)
- The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Elektra, 1975)
With Lalo Schifrin
- Enter the Dragon (soundtrack) (Warner Bros., 1973)
With The Rippingtons
- Welcome to the St. James' Club (GRP, 1990)
With Steely Dan
With Stanley Turrentine
- Everybody Come On Out (Fantasy, 1976)
References
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Joe Sample Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ Berendt, Joachim E (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. p. 387.
- ^ Keepnews, Peter (September 14, 2014). "Joe Sample, Crusaders Pianist Who Went Electric, Dies at 75". The New York Times. p. D10.
- ^ "Jazz-funk pioneer Joe Sample dies at 75". The Washington Post. Associated Press. September 13, 2014.
- ^ Chawkins, Steve (September 14, 2014). "Joe Sample dies at 75; jazz-funk keyboardist founded the Crusaders". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Khatchatourian, Maane (September 13, 2014). "Joe Sample, Iconic Jazz Pianist, Dies at 75". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738.
- ^ "Squared Roots: Jonatha Brooke on the rhythm and groove of Joe Sample". The Bluegrass Situation. November 9, 2016.
- ^ Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ "Prestige Records Catalog Series 10000". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ "'Round Midnight Kenny Burrell". Concordmusicgroup.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ "Riding with the King - B.B. King, Eric Clapton - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
External links
- Joe Sample discography at Discogs
- Joe Sample biography at Verve Records
- Joe Sample at IMDb
- Joe Sample at Find a Grave
- 1939 births
- 2014 deaths
- African-American musicians
- American jazz pianists
- American male pianists
- Smooth jazz pianists
- American organists
- Male organists
- 20th-century American keyboardists
- Musicians from Houston
- Deaths from mesothelioma
- Deaths from cancer in Texas
- People from Houston
- Musicians from Texas
- 20th-century American pianists
- Blue Thumb Records artists
- ABC Records artists
- GRP Records artists
- Warner Records artists
- Verve Records artists
- MCA Records artists
- Male jazz musicians
- 21st-century American keyboardists
- The Crusaders members
- L.A. Express members