The Crusaders 若い頃に聴いたきりでも、年を経るとまた聞きたくなる曲ばかり
彼らの曲は子供（たぶん高校生）の頃から聞いており、いつかは記録しておかなければと、思いながら今に至ります。
歴史あるグループで、ネットに紹介があると思って調べてみると、あまり情報はありません。
グループの成り立ち等、書かれているのは wiki 英語版。
（日本語版はグループ以外のことが…）
wiki 英語版レベルのことは、当時LPレコードに同封される30cm×30cmの紙に、細かい字（日本語）でビッシリと書かれていた記憶があります。
来歴（MOH備忘なので長い）
History
High school friends Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor saxophone) and Nesbert "Stix" Hooper (drums) formed their first band together, the Swingsters, in Houston, Texas in 1954. They played a mixture of jazz and R&B, and were joined by Wayne Henderson (trombone), Hubert Laws (flute), and Henry Wilson (bass). The group soon turned more to hard bop, and renamed themselves the Modern Jazz Sextet, but also recorded in a more R&B vein as the Nighthawks.
In 1960, Sample, Felder, Hooper and Henderson moved to Los Angeles, and formed the Jazz Crusaders as a quintet with a succession of different bass players. Influenced by musicians such as Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey and John Coltrane, the band signed to the Pacific Jazz label in 1961, and released 16 albums on the label over the subsequent eight years. With a front-line horn section of Felder and Henderson, the group's sound was rooted in hard bop, but with a slant towards R&B and soul music.
Their first two albums, with Jimmy Bond on bass, were Freedom Sound (1961), and Lookin' Ahead (1962), followed by the live album At the Lighthouse (1962) and Tough Talk, the first of several albums with bassist Bobby Haynes. In all, the group recorded five live albums in the 1960s, four of which were recorded at the Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach. The group's 1969 album, Powerhouse, was their first to reach the Billboard 200 album chart, reaching No. 184, and was also their last studio album for Pacific Jazz.
The group then signed with the Chisa label, co-owned by trumpeter Hugh Masekela and producer Stewart Levine. Their 1970 album Old Socks, New Shoes reached No. 90 on the album chart, and was their last as the Jazz Crusaders. The decision was taken to call the group simply the Crusaders, so as not to limit their scope and potential audience. After a second album with Chisa, (Pass the Plate, 1971), and one album for the MoWest label (Hollywood, 1972) they signed with Blue Thumb Records, where they remained until the late 1970s. Their recordings increasingly adopted a jazz-funk style. They incorporated electric guitar and bass into their shows and recordings, as well as using Sample's electric piano and clavinet. Guitarist Larry Carlton joined, and featured on their albums in the early part of the decade. Bass duties were often handled by Felder, with Max Bennett contributing in the early/mid-70's and Robert "Pops" Popwell joining later in the decade.
The peak of the group's commercial success came with 1979's Street Life, with Randy Crawford as featured singer. The album peaked at No. 18 on the pop album charts and the title track made the Top 10 on the R&B chart, No. 36 on Billboard′s Hot 100 chart, and No.5 in the UK. Later albums by the group featured singers Bill Withers and Joe Cocker. The live 1982 album Royal Jam featured guitarist B. B. King, bassist James Jamerson, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Hooper left in 1983, and though Felder and Sample kept the group operating through the 1980s, the group's commercial success diminished.
Wayne Henderson died on April 5, 2014.
Joe Sample died in Houston on September 12, 2014.
Wilton Felder died on September 27, 2015.
Album
Pass the Plate (1971)
Hollywood (1972)
Crusaders 1 (1972)
The 2nd Crusade (1973)
Unsung Heroes (1973)
Scratch (1974)
Southern Comfort (1974)
Chain Reaction (1975)
Those Southern Knights (1976)
Free as the Wind (1977)
Images (1978)
Street Life (1979)
Rhapsody and Blues (1980)
Standing Tall (1981)
Royal Jam (1982) with B.B. King
Ghetto Blaster (1984)
The Good and Bad Times (1986)
Life in the Modern World (1988)
Healing the Wounds (1991)
Rural Renewal (2003)
手元にあるアルバム
ストリーミングの聴き放題が一般的になった2021年に「どんなアルバム持ってるの？」は、意味がありませんが、一応備忘。
Music Video
So Far Way Larry Carlton の複音でのヴァイオリン奏法のイントロ😊
Way Back Home 最後のメンバー紹介がカッコ良すぎ😊
The Crusaders の思い出
Music Videoの最初に載せた“ Scratch ” 、ピンク色の30cm LPジャケットをレコードショップで購入したのが最初の出会い。
上のＭＶ（曲だけ）に２曲あります・
このアルバムを買ったきっかけが全然思い出せない。
高校生の頃、周りにこの類の音楽を聴いている人はいませんでした。
おそらくFM or FEN で聴いて好きになり購入したかと。
“ Scratch ” 今聞いても、行ったことのない彼らのライブ感が伝わります。
あとになって知ったのですが、ライブ盤の名盤であったとか。
とても短く感じられるライブアルバム。
[ 曲目 ]
Scratch 6:14
Eleanor Rigby 12:42（お馴染みビートルズ）
Hard Times 7:32
So Far Away 5:15（キャロルキングの名曲）
Way Back Home 8:42（メンバー紹介が入るのですが良い雰囲気）
Larry Carltonを初めて聴いたのは、このアルバム。
脱退後 Room335で、あれほど有名になるとは思いませんでした。
wiki の通り、オリジナルメンバーは鬼籍入。
それでも彼らの素晴らしい演奏を何時でも聴けるのは、素直に嬉しい😊
MOH