Music at the Red Cat Jazz Café

Composer / Pianist / Studio Musician

Joe Sample was born Joseph Leslie in Houston, Texas on February 1st 1939. His early influences included everything from gospel, latin and zydeco to traditional jazz, classical and blues. Sample says he spent much of his childhood checking out the new releases at the local record store. After a three year stint at Texas Southern University, Sample teamed up with saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Stix Hooper to form a jazz trio called the Swingsters. With the addition of trombonist Wayne Henderson, the band became the modern jazz sextet. Later they the Nighthawks, the the Jazz Crusaders and finally the Crusaders.

Sample composed the music for many of their best-known songs, including "Chain Reaction," "Rut It Where You Want It," and the top 40 pop hit "Street Life." While working with the crusaders, Joe Sample was an active session musician, appearing on recordings by Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Laws, and Tom Scott. He says great Motown artist like Diana Ross and the Jackson Five always kept him busy.

Joe Sample's extensive career includes more than twenty albums with the Crusaders and a dozen solo albums. In 1995, he recorded a rhythm-and-blues version of "Dear Momma," written by the late rapper Tupac Shakur. Last year sample released "Old Places, Old Faces," a tribute album to those who had influenced and inspired his music over the years.

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