Joe Sample

Oh, yeah.

And then Berlin, Watanabe, and you, and Joe Sample, and Mike Garson, and Alan Holdsworth, and Frank Mballi, and Stanley Clark.

I already said DiMeola.

Did I? I mean, this is partial.

Okay.

I was on the smaller stage.

When I got Joe Sample's gig, which led into doing the Jazz Crusaders and... and Randy Crawford.

Uh, I did that for a couple of years and that, that was again, through people recommended Joe, Joe had called my friend, Sal Marquez.

Before that, we heard from the Jazz Crusaders from 1967, the festival album, and they played a tune called Half and Half.

And the Jazz Crusaders then were Wayne Henderson, trombone, Wilton Felder, saxophone, Joe Sample, piano, sticks, hooper, drums, and Herbie Lewis at the bass.

How about Chick Corea with Joe Henderson? you so so Thank you.

so Thank you.

That particular sound, he heard me.

He didn't hear Joe Sample playing the Rhodes or anybody else.

I mean, like Les McCann told me that when he got on the Rhodes, it was like he heard himself for the first time, finally.

When did you hear you on the Rhodes? I mean, it sounds like it wasn't like Harvey may have heard you on it first before you heard you.

Moments.

Joe Sample on keyboards, which of course, you know, he's just amazing.

Or was amazing, I should say.

Bringing that, you know, warm, elegant touch that he always seems to find Larry Carlton, the guitar guide, Wilton Felder, who's been on so many tracks on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums, right? So you think about that amazing group of backing musicians and they give the song a groove that feels relaxed and effortless without ever sounding lightweight.

Right.

cheeky, you know, without being crude.

And obviously, you know, aided with Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, Wilton Felder, Steve Gaddick.

It just makes the whole thing land with a wink rather than a shove.

That we'd sent.

And the musicians that were on there were like Richard T, Joe, not Joe Sample, Steve Gad, Gordon Edwards.

Wow.

These people.

Because of this highly bespoke recording process, the personnel for Aja is one of the most outrageous lineups ever assembled for a single album.

It features guitar legends like Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Lee Ritenour, and Jay Graydon; keyboardists like Victor Feldman, Paul Griffin, Don Grolnick, and Joe Sample; drummers Bernard Purdie, Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, and Jim Keltner; as well as horn players like Tom Scott, Jim Horn, and in a memorable appearance on the title track, jazz tenor sax legend Wayne Shorter.

[saxophone music] Plus so many more amazing musicians, with many of those players only recording on a single song or even just a single solo on a single song.

[music] In a turn-of-the-century documentary about the making of this album, drummer Rick Marotta, who incidentally played on Peg and only Peg, articulated Becker and Fagen's approach well.

Nope.

[upbeat music] Written by Mead Kendrick III, Somehow Our Love Survives by Joe Sample.

This was a bit past the era, but he was still keeping the fire with JR Robinson on drums, Michael Landau, Lenny Castro, Larry Williams, with a Jerry Hey and Robbie Buchanan on synth arrangement.

Uh, Larry Williams with Jerry Hey, weird combo, weird, and Robbie Buchanan on synth arrangement.

And of course, Al Jarreau bringing the vocal smoothness as well as some uncharacteristically restrained scatting in the outro.

Does this have what it takes? [coughs] Keyboards, Joe Samples from The Crusaders.

He's a, he's a jazz fusion legend.

By this point in 1989, he was a smooth jazz legend.

When we were done, we had, uh, seven wicked tracks by Bernard Purdie, Paul Humphrey, Ed Greene, Jim Keltner, Rick Marotta, and Steve Gadd, who sight-read his way through the title track in one or two takes.

[laughs] Larry brought in his Crusaders bandmate, Joe Sample, and after a phalanx of LA guitarists cour- courageously tackled the 12-bar solo spot on Peg, without success, Jay Graydon finally pulled the sword out of the stone.

Uh, who else? Oh, yeah, post-bop tenor players.

We had the best.

... or is it just a, just another one?

Joe Sample, who's a great piano player in, uh, Weather Report or, um, I, I think it was Weather Report, fantastic American piano player.

This is his favorite piano, and he used to do lots of gigs.

The Casio?