The Legendary Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders

More than forty-years ago, Wayne Henderson, along with childhood buddies Wilton Felder, Joe Sample, and Nesbert “Stix” Hooper, formed the nucleus of the Jazz Crusaders/Crusaders. As a fledging, attending Houston’s Phyllis Wheatley Jr. High School, the precocious Henderson took the lead in sculpting the group’s dazzling style into one that was ground breaking, with considerable eclectic overtones. By fusing elements of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, Latin, and gospel, an iridescent sound emerged with such impact that a musical revolution was unearthed. As the quartet’s cornerstone,iation for all musical elements compels him to subconsciously or otherwise express those nuances in live performances and on recordings.

 Henderson went on hiatus from the group and augmented his career by producing and recording with other notable acts: Patti Austin, Jean Carne, Bill Withers, Ronnie Laws, Ramsey Lewis, Steely Dan, Bobby Lyle, Everette Harp, Phillip Ingram, Nathan East, Lenny Williams, Rebbie Jackson, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, the Jackson Five, Hiroshima, Hugh Masekela, Joni Mitchell, Wilton Felder, and Tina Turner, to mention a few. Some of these artists appear  A side point: Reebie Jackson’s Centipede project, which Henderson co-produced with Michael Jackson, went nearly platinum with more than 900,000 records sold.