Joe Sample Transcriptions

Biography of Joe Sample

Joe Sample was an American jazz keyboardist and composer, best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the pioneering band that later dropped "Jazz" from its name to become the influential jazz-funk group The Crusaders. A pioneer of the electric piano in jazz, he helped define the fusion sound of the 1970s, co-writing the hit "Street Life," while also maintaining a prolific solo career and collaborating with icons like Miles Davis, Steely Dan, and B.B. King. In his later years, he returned to his roots with acclaimed solo piano recordings that paid tribute to the Great American Songbook and his own compositions.