Wilton Felder
Encyclopedia
Wilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone
and bass
player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders
, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample
, and Stix Hooper
founded the group while in high school
in Houston. The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead jazz
combo into a pioneering jazz-rock
fusion group, with a definite soul music
influence. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continues to work in its current versions, which often feature other founding members.
Felder also worked as a West coast studio
musician
, mostly playing electric bass, for various soul
and R&B
musicians, and was one of the in-house bass players for Motown Records
, when the record label
opened up operations in Los Angeles
, California
, in the early 1970s. He played on recordings
by the Jackson 5 like "I Want You Back
" and "The Love You Save
," and for Marvin Gaye
. He has also played bass for soft rock groups like America
and Seals and Crofts
. Also of note was his contribution to the John Cale
album, Paris 1919
, and Billy Joel
's Piano Man
and Streetlife Serenade
albums. He was one of three bass players on Randy Newman
's Sail Away (1972) and Joan Baez
Diamonds & Rust
. Felder also anchored album
s from Joni Mitchell
and Michael Franks.
His solo
album, Secrets, which prominently featured Bobby Womack
on vocals, reached #77 in the UK Albums Chart
in 1985. This album featured the minor hit, "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still be Looking Up to You", sung by Womack and Alltrinna Grayson.
As to equipment, Felder plays a King Super 20 tenor sax with a metal 105/0 Berg Larsen mouthpiece. He has also used Yamaha saxes. On Bass, it's a Fender Precision. He also played Aria bass guitars at one time, as well.
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
, and Stix Hooper
Stix Hooper
Nesbert "Stix" Hooper is an American soul jazz/hard bop jazz drummer born in Houston, Texas, probably best known for founding his group The Swingsters, which later became known as The Jazz Crusaders.-References:...
founded the group while in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Houston. The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
combo into a pioneering jazz-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
fusion group, with a definite soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influence. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continues to work in its current versions, which often feature other founding members.
Felder also worked as a West coast studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, mostly playing electric bass, for various soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musicians, and was one of the in-house bass players for Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
, when the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
opened up operations in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in the early 1970s. He played on recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by the Jackson 5 like "I Want You Back
I Want You Back
"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
" and "The Love You Save
The Love You Save
"The Love You Save" is a 1970 number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. It held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart for six weeks. It held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from June 27 to July 4, 1970...
," and for Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
. He has also played bass for soft rock groups like America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
and Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts is a band made up of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts . The soft rock duo was one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. They are best known for their hits "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl"...
. Also of note was his contribution to the John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
album, Paris 1919
Paris 1919 (album)
Paris 1919 is a 1973 album by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. It was produced by Chris Thomas and features a backing band consisting largely of members of Little Feat. It is the most accessible and traditional of Cale's albums, and the most well-known of his work as a solo artist.A...
, and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's Piano Man
Piano Man (album)
Piano Man is a rock album by Billy Joel, released in 1973. Piano Man, Joel's second album and his first with Columbia Records, emerged out of legal difficulties with his former label, Family Productions, and became his breakthrough album...
and Streetlife Serenade
Streetlife Serenade
Streetlife Serenade is Billy Joel's third album, and his second with Columbia Records.Streetlife Serenade was released in 1974 , after the hit songs "Piano Man" and "Captain Jack" from the album Piano Man...
albums. He was one of three bass players on Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's Sail Away (1972) and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
Diamonds & Rust
Diamonds & Rust
Diamonds & Rust is a 1975 album by Joan Baez. Baez is often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, and on this album she covered songs by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, and Jackson Browne...
. Felder also anchored album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s from Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
and Michael Franks.
His solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album, Secrets, which prominently featured Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
on vocals, reached #77 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in 1985. This album featured the minor hit, "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still be Looking Up to You", sung by Womack and Alltrinna Grayson.
As to equipment, Felder plays a King Super 20 tenor sax with a metal 105/0 Berg Larsen mouthpiece. He has also used Yamaha saxes. On Bass, it's a Fender Precision. He also played Aria bass guitars at one time, as well.