We remember jazz pianist and composer Joe Sample. The longtime Houstonian died Friday at the age of 75.
Sample became well known in the 1960s as the pianist for the Jazz Crusaders, who eventually shortened their name to simply the Crusaders. Sample gained notoriety for adding electric keyboards to his repertoire.
In addition to his many years with the Crusaders, Sample had a successful solo career, and recorded with artists ranging from BB King to Eric Clapton, to Miles Davis and The Supremes. The jazz pianist and composer told us in 2013 how it all started when he was a small child, growing up here in Houston.
