The 2nd Crusade
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Album Summary
The 2nd Crusade dropped in 1973 on Blue Thumb Records — a second studio offering from those magnificent cats known as The Crusaders, and honey, it came in like a freight train of pure musical intention. Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, Wayne Henderson, and Stix Hooper were locked in tight, laying down a double album's worth of instrumental soul-jazz that felt like it was built for both the concert hall and the after-hours club. Produced by the group themselves alongside Stewart Levine, this record captured The Crusaders at a moment when they were absolutely fearless — stretching out on extended grooves, weaving jazz sophistication through funk architecture, and proving that music without a single word could still say everything worth saying.
Reception
- The album made its presence felt on the Billboard charts, further cementing The Crusaders' reputation as one of the defining crossover acts of the early 1970s jazz-funk movement.
- Jazz and R&B audiences embraced the record warmly, with critics recognizing the group's ability to bridge instrumental jazz credibility with the visceral pull of funk and soul.
Significance
- The 2nd Crusade stands as a landmark document of early 1970s jazz-funk fusion, demonstrating how The Crusaders could stretch a groove across a double album without ever losing the listener — every side a journey, every track a destination.
- The album deepened The Crusaders' signature sound — that unmistakable blend of Wayne Henderson's trombone warmth, Wilton Felder's muscular tenor, and Joe Sample's luminous keys — a sound that would go on to shape contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, and neo-soul for decades to come.
- As a double album released at the height of the jazz-funk boom, The 2nd Crusade represented a bold artistic statement, proving that instrumental Black American music could command the same expansive canvas that rock artists had claimed for themselves.
Samples
- "A Message From The Inner City" — a gritty, deeply soulful track that attracted the ears of hip-hop and R&B producers mining the golden era of jazz-funk for raw, authentic texture.
- "Don't Let It Get You Down" — sampled within the hip-hop and soul production community for its infectious groove and the kind of organic warmth that drum machines simply cannot manufacture.
Tracklist
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A1 Don't Let It Get You Down 108
3:00
-
A2 Take It Or Leave It 106
3:40
-
A3 Gotta Get It On —
2:50
-
A4 Where There's A Will There's A Way —
5:30
-
A5 Look Beyond The Hill 81
3:20
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B1 Journey From Within 96
4:51
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B2 Ain't Gon' Change A Thang 96
4:30
-
B3 A Message From The Inner City 172
8:50
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C1 A Search For Soul 77
9:40
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C2 No Place To Hide 159
8:44
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D1 Tomorrow Where Are You? 110
5:10
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D2 Tough Talk 183
6:00
-
D3 Do You Remember When?? —
6:00
Artist Details
The Crusaders — originally known as the Jazz Crusaders — came together in Houston, Texas in the late 1950s, a band of brothers forged in the church and the streets, blending hard bop jazz with blues, funk, and soul into something so deep and righteous it had no choice but to become its own thing. With cats like Joe Sample on keys, Wilton Felder on saxophone, and Stix Hooper holding down the pocket on drums, they became one of the defining forces in the development of soul-jazz and funk, laying the groundwork for what folks would later call smooth jazz while always keeping that raw, earthy feeling underneath. Their 1979 smash "Street Life," featuring the incomparable Randy Crawford on vocals, brought them to the mainstream masses, but true music lovers knew long before that these cats were the real deal — session players, bandleaders, and sonic architects who shaped the sound of an era.
