Wilton Felder is jazz with a little history

By Eric Feber
The Virginian-Pilot

HAVE YOU HEARD the Jackson Five’s classic “I Want You Back”? Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” or Michael Franks’ “Popsicle Toes”?

Then you have heard jazz legend Wilton Felder, who performs Saturday at the Chesapeake Conference Center.

The saxman, and occasional bassist, has played with the cream of jazz, rock, pop, soul and blues artists including Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Steely Dan, Barry White and The Four Tops.

But at the center of his travels, and career, is the band he founded in 1959, The Jazz Crusaders. Felder started the group with longtime buddies – and now all-stars in their own right – Joe Sample, piano, Nesbert “Stix” Hooper, percussion, and Wayne Henderson , trombone. “We came out of the Houston area,” said Felder from his California home. “We met and played in junior high and high school around the area. Later we left Houston and moved to California. You know, Hubert Laws was originally in our group but he left to go on his own.”

The band recorded more than 30 albums, many of which became crossover jazz-pop-fusion best sellers, particularly in the ’70s and ’80s. Top-selling and universally lauded long players include “Chain Reaction,” “Free as the Wind,” “Southern Comfort” and “Scratch.” Their biggest top-40 hit was 1979’s “Street Life,” which featured vocalist Randy Crawford .

“I remember the way each of us played and made our sound unique,” Felder said. “There was individual playing within the context of a band. We were a unit with each piece of the puzzle standing out.”

Along the way, the group also helped jump -start the careers of now-legendary guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Max Bennett.

“We had the opportunity to play around so many great musicians,” Felder said.

“When we were just coming up, one of my most memorable experiences was when we were playing at a jazz workshop, and Ben Webster (influential tenor saxophonist, 1909-1973) showed up out of nowhere and sat in with us. That was such a treat . During that time a lot of the older guys taught me how and why. I got the chance to meet a lot of these people and get instructed by them. I came along at a period of time when there were a lot of jazz musicians playing. We got to work regularly. There was a camaraderie there. We were all working together, not just passing through.” Felder vividly recalls playing as a teen at the Newport Jazz Festival.

“I was 18 at the time, and in the trailer next to me was John Coltrane. And I learned I had to follow ’Trane onstage! Sure, it made me nervous, but it just builds you up at the same time.”

Other Felder recollections include:

Joni Mitchell – “She’s a phenomenal composer and person; her music is just fun to play.”

Barry White – “He was the perfect musician to achieve 'feeling.’ He was the first person to use five guitarists all working on the same song, each one playing something different in order to get the feeling and make it work.”

Motown – “To have been able to do a lot of things with Motown was nice. Working with the Jackson Five was really nice, too. I played bass on that session (“I Want You Back”). Whenever in the studio we needed a bass, rather than teach someone the lines, I just played it myself.”

The Crusaders’ most recent release is 2003’s “Rural Renewal.” The ensemble’s re union album was recorded after a 20-year absence and features such guests as guitarists Eric Clapton and Ray Parker Jr., gospel singer Donnie McClurkin and The Sounds of Blackness.

“It was real nice, like we’d never been apart,” Felder said about re-uniting with Hooper and Sample. “Our chemistry was still there.” Felder is touring to promote his latest recording, the smooth jazz of “Let’s Spend Some Time,” which he plans to perform with his combo, featuring trumpeter George Shaw , a member of the Longbeach City College music faculty.

Saturday’s Chesapeake concert will also feature top-session soul/pop/R&B vocalist Phillip Ingram , late of the Motown group Switch, who will sit in with Felder, and rising jazz pianist Hey Rim Jeon and her combo. The entire jazz evening has been dubbed an “Informance,” which will combine music with commentary.

“We’ll do more playing and little talking,” Felder said. “We’ll perform music from different periods of my career, show the audience our Southern style and different flavors of music. And we’ll talk about the music, too, to help the audience appreciate what they’re listening to.” Reach Eric Feber at (757) 222-5203 or eric.feber@pilotonline.com.