Home » Search Center » Results: Joe Sample
Results for "Joe Sample"
Results for pages tagged "Joe Sample"...
Joe Sample
Born:
Joe Sample is a pianist of great energy, versatility, and enterprise. He has constantly sought out novel directions to express his ideas. Since his days with the Jazz Crusaders to his multiple solo efforts and countless sideman sessions, though never seeking the spotlight, is recognized by both his peers and the knowing public as a first class musical artist Born on February 1, 1939, in Houston, Texas, Joe Sample grew up in a fertile musical Creole neighborhood hearing zydeco and Louis Armstrong. He started playing the piano at age five, and he incorporated a range of local traditions into his music: jazz, gospel, blues, and even Latin and classical forms. In high school in the 1950s, Sample teamed up with two friends, saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, to form a group called the Swingsters
The Crusaders: A Retrospective
by Jason Elias
With the esteemed jazz/funk/fusion band the Crusaders as a guide, one could trace the rise and fall of commercial jazz in all in many of its permutations. The core group that is the most recognized was founded in Texas and comprised Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor sax and bass), Stix Hooper (drums) and Wayne Henderson ...
Donald Fagen: An Essential Top 10 Albums
by Peter Jones
Actually, the whole notion of a Donald Fagen Top Ten is tricky. Artists like Chet Baker made well over a hundred albums, whereas in half a century Fagen has only released 13 official studio albums, whether with Steely Dan or under his own name, along with a handful of live sets. The process of selecting the ...
Ramsey Lewis: Life is Good
by Jacob Blickenstaff
Some jazz aficionados might characterize pianist Ramsey Lewis' music as a gateway into more serious jazz, as if popular Lewis albums like The In Crowd (Verve, 1965) were meant to lead novice listeners to saxophonist Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic, 1959). But Lewis' commercial successes should not be viewed as a liability ...
Blue Muse: It Never Entered My Mind
by Hrayr Attarian
Blue Muse, the ensemble that tenor saxophonist Sarah Lee founded, plays mainstream jazz with elegance and vigor. The group's second recording, the delightful It Never Entered My Mind, is an engaging batch of standards crackling with vibrant spontaneity which highlights both the distinctive virtuosity and the combined artistry of the musicians involved. Pianist Horace ...
Blue Note Records: Lost In Space: 20 Overlooked Classic Albums
by Chris May
For anyone with a passion for Blue Note, it is hard to conceive of an album that has been overlooked," let alone twenty of them. For connoisseurs of the most influential label in jazz history, the passion can be all consuming: if a dedicated collector does not have all the albums (yet), he or she will ...
World Jazz Quintet: Live At QPAC Theatre
by Troy Dostert
Although all the members of the World Jazz Quintet are New York-based, the group's name does evoke the global palette of its music. Led by pianist Francis Honwho, on his trio outing Before Dawn (2018), worked within pop and classical idioms in addition to conventional jazzthe World Jazz Quintet incorporates traditional Asian folk musics and a ...
Take Five with G. Thomas Allen
by G. Thomas Allen
Meet G. Thomas Allen Redefining the career possibilities of his rare vocal category, generally tied to classical music, he takes his play in the world of modern jazz. Paying homage to the post-bop era, he offers a collection of songs with the aesthetics of R&B, blues and Gospel roots. Bridging genres with an undeniable melodic blend ...
Chris May's Best Releases of 2019
by Chris May
The world may be going to hell in a handcart, but the year has been full of uplifting jazz. Here are ten of the best albums--the first seven newly recorded, the final three reissued or recently unearthed. Each one is the coyote's cojones. Yazz Ahmed Polyhymnia Ropeadope The eagerly ...
Eumir Deodato: Os Catedraticos 73
by Chris M. Slawecki
In 1973, Eumir Deodato was riding high upon the GRAMMY® Award-winning success of Also Sprach Zarathurstra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)," the Brazilian keyboardist's jazz-rock fusion take on Richard Strauss' classic, from his previous release Prelude (CTI, 1972). Deodato's next move, Os Catedráticos 73 doesn't mess with that successful formula but throws a ...