Requisites

The Festival Album ~ The Jazz Crusaders | By Eddie Carter 

This morning’s discussion is a 1966 live album by four friends from Houston, Texas who began performing locally in 1956. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, they became The Jazz Crusaders, one of the best West Coast jazz groups. I became a fan of their music listening to Chuck Lansing of Cleveland’s jazz station, WCUY 92.3 FM. His opening theme was The Young Rabbits, taken from their second LP, Lookin’ Ahead (1962). The Festival Album (World Pacific Jazz ST-20115) contains two performances from The Pacific Jazz Festival and The Newport Jazz Festival. The quartet consists of Wayne Henderson on trombone, Wilton Felder on tenor sax, Joe Sample on piano, and Stix Hooper on drums.  Jimmy Bond (tracks: A1, A2) and Herbie Lewis (tracks: B1, B2) on bass, complete the group. My copy used in this report is the 1967 Stereo reissue (Pacific Jazz ST-20115).

Trance Dance by Kenny Cox opens Side One with a collective soulful theme.  Wayne goes first with a noteworthy contribution offering a relaxing informality.  Wynton follows with an excellent solo of his own, then Joe gives a spirited closing reading ahead of the ensemble’s reprise and ending. A Summer Madness is the collaborative creation of Sample, Henderson, and Felder.  Wayne leads the quintet on the mid-tempo melody, then entices the listener with a captivating first statement. Wilton builds a satisfying groove with inspired lines next. Joe unfolds the next reading with a mellow tone effortlessly, and Jimmy makes a brief remark into the finale and crowd’s ovation.

Henderson’s Young Rabbits is off to the races from the intensely hot opening notes of the melody. Felder takes the first solo at breakneck speed with electrically charged excitement. Sample steps up next for a high-octane statement. Stix provides an energetic interpretation leading to the vigorous ending. Sample’s Freedom Sound was the title tune of their debut album (1961).  The trio begins this midtempo swinger with a march-like introduction developing into the quintet’s theme. Felder takes the lead with a cheerfully, light-hearted reading. Henderson swings comfortably into the next statement, and Joe wraps the album with a leisurely-paced performance powered by Herbie and Stix’s excellent groundwork.

This was The Jazz Crusaders’ twelfth LP for World Pacific Jazz and Pacific Jazz Records. *They were extremely popular and well known on the West Coast, but their first trip to The Newport Jazz Festival was significant because it introduced them to a whole new group of fans and brought them to the attention of the New York City jazz clubs.  I only wish it would have been released as a two-record set with each festival highlighted on one LP.  The Festival Album was produced by Richard Bock, and the sound quality of each session is quite good with an exquisite soundstage.  For those fans that only know of The Crusaders’ music from the seventies and eighties, The Festival Album shows the group in excellent form live and gives a snapshot of the Hard-Bop sound they created when Jazz was their middle name!

~ *AllMusic Review by Thom Jarek – Source: AllMusic.com

~ Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz PJ-27/ST-27), Lookin’ Ahead (Pacific Jazz PJ-43/ST-43) – Source: Discogs.com
© 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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