Hi, this is Tristan's tribute page to Wayne Henderson.
Wayne Henderson's trombone teamed up with Wilton Felder's tenor in the Jazz Crusaders to give the group its own trademark sound.
A fine soloist who later in his career chose to become an R & B producer instead, Henderson first played regularly with Felder, Joe Sample and Stix Hooper in Houston in the mid-'50s.
By the time they moved to Los Angeles and started recording in 1961 they were known as the Jazz Crusaders.
After many records for Pacific Jazz, the group in 1971 changed their name to the Crusaders.
With Henderson's decision to quit the band in 1975, the Crusaders lost a great deal of their originality.
In 1977, Henderson released 'Big Daddy's Place', which contained the much sought after 'I'm Saying Forever' and 'Daddy Bug'.
1978 bought 'Living On A Dream' containing 'Hot Stuff' followed in 1979 by 'Emphasized' which contained the popular vocal track 'Dancing Love Affair'.
During this period Henderson also recorded two duet LP's with vibraphonist Roy Ayers.
It was at this time he launched his At Home Productions label and went on to feature the artists, The L.A. Boppers, David Oliver, Ronnie Laws, Bobby Lyle, Side Effect, Pleasure, Gabor Szabo, Arthur Adams, Michael White, Hilary, Smoke, Chico Hamilton, Ramsey Lewis, Allspice and Narada Michael Walden.
In the Eighties, his At Home label folded although he still continued to produce artists including The McCrary's ('Love On A Summer Night'), Mary Wells ('My Guy' update), Rebbie Jackson, Hiroshima and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs.
He continued to work alongside Ronnie Laws throughout this period.
In the mid-'90s Henderson and Wilton Felder had a nostalgic reunion, of the Crusaders, with an enlarged group for a recording on the Par label.