Thus, from the very beginning, there was a sense that the group was there not just to shine individually, but to celebrate the feeling that happened when they all were listening hard to one another and riding that groove.
“It is not only the sound of the band, but the content,” says Sample. “When I used to go play with other musicians, I would detect a sense of selfishness among so many musicians that when I got back I would feel, ‘Boy am I glad to be back.’”
For the Crusaders, this intermingling of personality, sensitivity and musical talent is the essence of good musicianship. Jazz is the name not so much for a musical category as for what happens when musicians communicate as they play together.
