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JazzDigger Home > J - Jazz Artists > Jazz Crusaders > Item 31
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Chain Reaction
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by The Crusaders
Sales Rank: 1056679
Price:$5.50
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Listener Reviews & Comments
This review is from: Chain Reaction (Audio CD)
This album is a "must-get" for anyone who is a true Crusaders fan. Aficionados will likely recognize this as the last album that Larry Carlton made with the Crusaders as a full-time member of the group. While some jazz purists validate only the more traditional, straight-ahead jazz the Crusaders wrote and performed during the 60's, (under the moniker, "The Jazz Crusaders"), many of us appreciate even more, the innovation and experimentation that more characterized the Crusaders compositions throughout the 70's. The Crusaders were truly one of the first pioneers of fusion, (or "jazz-rock" as we called it back then), if not the very first. They intermixed elements common to jazz, funk, blues, soul, and rock in such a way as had never previously been done before. (And in a way that no one has been able to duplicate, since.) Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson defined the classic blend of Trombone and Tenor Sax playing in unison, (or in octaves), which became the trademark of the Crusaders classic sound. The entire Chain Reaction album is enjoyable to listen to, with no filler songs or "B-side" flops. This entire album is solid. Cuts, such as "Hallucinate", feature Henderson and Felder paying in fourths, giving a dissonant color to the number. The lively title cut, "Chain Reaction", features great unison playing over a bouncy, "bop" figure. Larry Carlton shines throughout the album, playing his classic, blistering tri-tone runs through seemingly unnavigable chord changes; leaving us all wondering why he has permanently "left the building", and moved on to play only luke-warm, "Wave Station-soft jazz". Only his first solo album, "Room 335", echoed the Crusaders brand of fusion that typified those early years. No review would be complete without mentioning Joe Sample's incredibly relaxing, yet complex improvisation style. (I wish the Fender-Rhodes electric piano would come back in vogue), and Styxx Hopper's solid grooves drive the band along making it hard to not tap your toe. If you get the impression that I liked the album, you're right. I'm probably one of only a few people who actually own this album on original vinyl, (bought back in the late 70's), cassette, and CD formats. I've been listening to, and playing these songs on the saxophone for over two decades, and it just keeps getting better, and better. Chain Reaction is my favorite of all the Crusader albums. Enjoy.
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Chain Reaction
by The Crusaders
Price:$5.50
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