Joe Sample obit

A Talent That Bridged Genres: Jazz Pianist Joe Sample Dies

 

He was not on the list.

Joe Sample, a composer and keyboard player who connected the world of jazz to many other musical traditions, has died at age 75. He died in his hometown of Houston. Sample was a founder of the band the Jazz Crusaders; he also reportedly played with musicians from Miles Davis and B.B. King to Steely Dan and the Supremes.

Sample was known for smoothly incorporating elements of soul and funk into jazz, along with gospel, Latin, and the blues. But what made his genre-bending possible was a dexterity and creativity that also made him unique among pianists.

This summer, Sample had been working on a new musical called Quadroon in Houston, along with the city's Ensemble Theater. He had also been performing to benefit the Joe Sample Youth Organization, a non-profit that supports Catholic schools in the Houston area – including the one he had attended.

Sample's death was confirmed by his agent and his son, after his passing was first announced on his Facebook page:

"At 9:50 pm (Houston,TX time), September 12, 2014, 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."

As a composer with an ear for grooves, several of Sample's songs have been sampled — perhaps the most well-known being a phrase from his 1978 "In All My Wildest Dreams," which became the backbone of Tupac Shakur's "Dear Mama."

Discography

 

Sample performing in Paris, 1978

As leader

Title      Year            Label

Fancy Dance [originally titled Try Us]            1969            Gazell

The Three (with Ray Brown, Shelly Manne)            1976            East Wind

Rainbow Seeker 1978            ABC/MCA; Blue Thumb

Carmel 1979            ABC/MCA; Blue Thumb

Voices in the Rain     1981            MCA Jazz

Swing Street Cafe (with David T. Walker)            1981            Crusaders; Verve

The Hunter            1983            MCA Jazz

Oasis    1985            MCA Jazz

Roles    1987            MCA Jazz

Spellbound            1989            Warner Bros.

Ashes to Ashes            1990            Warner Bros.

Invitation            1993            Warner Bros.

Did You Feel That?    1994            Warner Bros.

Old Places Old Faces   1996            Warner Bros.

Sample This            1997            Warner Bros.

The Song Lives On (with Lalah Hathaway)            1999            GRP

The Pecan Tree            2002            Verve

Soul Shadows            2004            Verve

Creole Love Call (with Nils Landgren)            2006            ACT

Feeling Good (with Randy Crawford & Steve Gadd)            2007            PRA

No Regrets (with Randy Crawford & Steve Gadd)            2009            PRA

Live (with Randy Crawford, Steve Gadd & Nicklas Sample)            2012            PRA

Children of the Sun (with NDR Big band & Steve Gadd)            2014            PRA

Christmas with Friends (with India Arie)            2015            Motown

With The (Jazz) Crusaders

Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz, 1961)

Lookin' Ahead (Pacific Jazz, 1962)

The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse (Pacific Jazz, 1962)

Tough Talk (Pacific Jazz, 1963)

Heat Wave (Pacific Jazz, 1963)

Jazz Waltz (Pacific Jazz, 1963) with Les McCann

Stretchin' Out (Pacific Jazz, 1964)

The Thing (Pacific Jazz, 1965)

Chile Con Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1965)

Live at the Lighthouse '66 (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

Talk That Talk (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

The Festival Album (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

Uh Huh (Pacific Jazz, 1967)

Lighthouse '68 (Pacific Jazz, 1968)

Powerhouse (Pacific Jazz, 1969)

Lighthouse '69 (Pacific Jazz, 1969)

Give Peace a Chance (Liberty, 1970)

Old Socks New Shoes – New Socks Old Shoes (Chisa, 1970)

Pass the Plate (Chisa, 1971)

Hollywood (MoWest, 1972)

Crusaders 1 (Blue Thumb, 1972)

The 2nd Crusade (Blue Thumb, 1973)

Unsung Heroes (Blue Thumb, 1973)

Scratch (Blue Thumb, 1974)

Southern Comfort (Blue Thumb, 1974)

Chain Reaction (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1975)

Those Southern Knights (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1976)

Free as the Wind (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1977)

Images (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1978)

Street Life (MCA, 1979)

Rhapsody and Blues (MCA, 1980)

Standing Tall (MCA, 1981)

Ongaku Kai - Live in Japan (Crusaders, 1981; GRP, 1993)

Royal Jam (MCA, 1982) with B.B. King

Ghetto Blaster (MCA, 1984)

The Good and the Bad Times (MCA, 1986)

Life in the Modern World (MCA, 1988)

Healing the Wounds (GRP, 1991)

Rural Renewal (Verve, 2003)

With CreoleJoe Band

 

CreoleJoe Band (PRA, 2013)

As sideman

With Anita Baker

 

Rhythm of Love (Elektra, 1994)

Christmas Fantasy (Blue Note, 2005)

With George Benson

 

20/20 (Warner Bros., 1985)

Absolute Benson (Verve, 2000)

Guitar Man (Concord, 2011)

With Joan Baez

 

Diamonds & Rust (A&M, 1975)

Blowin' Away (Portrait, 1977)

With Cher

 

Bittersweet White Light (MCA, 1973)

Stars (Warner Bros., 1975)

With Eric Clapton

 

Pilgrim (Reprise, 1998)

Reptile (Reprise, 2001)

With Natalie Cole

 

Unforgettable... with Love (Elektra, 1991)

Ask a Woman Who Knows (Verve, 2002)

With Randy Crawford

 

Everything Must Change (Warner Bros., 1976)

Now We May Begin (Warner Bros., 1980)

Through the Eyes of Love (Warner Bros., 1992)

Feeling Good (PRA, 2007)

No Regrets (PRA, 2009)

Live (PRA, 2012)

With Michael Franks

 

The Art of Tea (Reprise, 1975)

Sleeping Gypsy (Warner Bros., 1977)

With Albert King

 

Albert (Utopia, 1976)

Truckload of Lovin' (Utopia, 1976)

With B.B. King

 

Midnight Believer (ABC, 1978)

Take It Home (MCA, 1979)

There Is Always One More Time (MCA, 1991)

Reflections (MCA, 2003)

With Blue Mitchell

 

Blues' Blues (Mainstream, 1972)

Graffiti Blues (Mainstream, 1973)

With Joni Mitchell

 

Court and Spark (Elektra, 1974)

The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Elektra, 1975)

With Steely Dan

 

Aja (ABC 1977)

Gaucho (MCA, 1980) – rec. 1978–80

With Rod Stewart

 

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (J, 2004)

Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V (J, 2010)

With others

 

Gene Ammons, Free Again (Prestige, 1971)[11]

Paul Anka, The Painter (United Artists, 1976)

Herb Alpert, Rise (A&M, 1979)

Solomon Burke, Electronic Magnetism (MGM, 1971)

Kenny Burrell, 'Round Midnight (Fantasy, 1972)[12]

Jerry Butler, Power Of Love (Mercury, 1973)

Dion DiMucci, Born to Be with You (Phil Spector, 1975)

Marvin Gaye, Let's Get It On (Motown, 1973)

Richard "Groove" Holmes, Welcome Home (World Pacific, 1968)

Bobby Hutcherson, San Francisco (Blue Note, 1971)

Milt Jackson, Memphis Jackson (Impulse!, 1969)

Al Jarreau, Tenderness (Reprise, 1994)

Gloria Jones, Windstorm (Capitol, 1978)

B.B. King and Eric Clapton, Riding with the King (except tracks 3, 4, 8) (Reprise, 2000)[13]

Harold Land, The Peace-Maker (Cadet, 1968)

Melissa Manchester, Don't Cry Out Loud (Arista, 1978)

Carmen McRae, Can't Hide Love (Blue Note, 1976)

Martha Reeves, Martha Reeves (MCA, 1974)

Minnie Riperton, Adventures in Paradise (Epic, 1975)

The Rippingtons, Welcome to the St. James' Club (GRP, 1990)

Johnny Rivers, Outside Help (Big Tree, 1977)

Brenda Russell, Get Here (A&M, 1988) – rec. 1985–87

Ringo Starr, Stop and Smell the Roses (RCA, 1981)

Boz Scaggs, Slow Dancer (Columbia, 1974)

Lalo Schifrin, Enter the Dragon (soundtrack) (Warner Bros., 1973)

Sonny & Cher, Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs (MCA, 1973)

Dusty Springfield, It Begins Again (Mercury, 1978)

Tina Turner, Private Dancer (Capitol, 1984)

Stanley Turrentine, Everybody Come On Out (Fantasy, 1976)