Even the most implacable of bebop purists, fastidiously queasy about any departures from Charlie Parker, had a sneaking admiration for the Crusaders the American jazz-funk pioneers who, in their 1960s heyday, could build a monstrous groove out of what often seemed little more than the swish of a hi-hat and the bluesy dance of a handful of keyboard chords. They put together a shrewd mix of popular hard-bop jazz, dancefloor rhythms and showmanship that kept them at the top of their game for decades, always sounding like jazz lovers having fun, not defectors trying to dumb their music down. Now the original bluesy dancer over the Crusaders' keys, Joe Sample, has died of mesothelioma, aged 75.
Sample's pop-composer's ear for a catchy riff, and the coolly melodic yet quietly drum-like way he built his solos, lay at the heart of the band's affably sensuous sound. He was a thoughtful, open and talented jazz all-rounder who, in his later years, took to celebrating classic jazz-piano landmarks. His new interpretations of Scott Joplin's ragtime music, Fats Waller's stride-piano swing and the hits of Duke Ellington were eagerly anticipated in August at Ronnie Scott's club in London, a trip regretfully cancelled by Sample as his health declined.
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