Jazz Pianist and Composer Joe Sample Dies at 75

Music has lost another great. Jazz pianist and composer Joe Sample, who for decades rocked out with the Jazz Crusaders passed away at 75-years-old in Houston, Texas on Friday (Sept. 12).
Sample‘s family confirmed his death as a result of mesothelioma. "Joe Sample passed. His wife Yolanda and his son Nicklas would like to thank all of you, his fans and friends, for your prayers and support during this trying time. Please know that Joe was aware and very appreciative of all of your prayers, comments, letters/cards and well wishes,” a Facebook message read.
Getting his footing in Houston, where he was born Feb. 1, 1939, Sample and tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Nesbert Hooper formed the band The Swingsters while Sample was still in high school. Sample and the fellas eventually migrated to Los Angeles with other band members, including trombonist Wayne Henderson and changed their name to the Jazz Crusaders. In 1961 they released their first album Freedom Sound.
A decade later, in 1971 the group underwent another name change, dropping the "Jazz" to form The Crusaders. They released their first album, Crusaders1 under their new moniker in 1972, featuring several tracks composed by Sample, who showcased his passion on the electric piano.
The new fusion of classic and progressive jazz expanded the band's audience allowing them to record for more than two decades all the way up until 1991.
Sample also began to branch out on his own beginning in 1969 with the release of the album Fancy Dance. When the group disbanded, he turned his attention to his solo career, which led to some high profile collaborations with artists. His keyboard work is featured on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” as well as several other recordings with BB King, Tina Turner, Anita Baker, and the 1999 classic duet album The Song Lives On with the First Daughter of Soul, Lalah Hathaway.
His music has been influential not only in the Jazz community, but hip hop as well. His 1978 track “In My Wildest Dreams,” was sampled on Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” and other works were also sampled by Arrested Development and De La Soul.
Sample released his last album Soul Shadows in 2008. His Children of the Sun, is scheduled for a posthumous release this fall.