Wilton Felder


Wilton Lewis Felder was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as the Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Want You Back" and "ABC" and on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On".

Biography

Felder was born on August 31, 1940, in Houston, Texas and studied music at Texas Southern University. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded their group while in high school in Houston. The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead jazz group into a pioneering jazz-rock fusion band, with a definite soul music influence. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continued to work in its later versions, which often featured 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 operations in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. He played on recordings by the Jackson 5 such as "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "The Love You Save", as well as recordings by Marvin Gaye including "Let's Get It On" and "I Want You". He also played bass for soft rock groups like Seals and Crofts. Felder played bass on #1 big hit The Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat", not James Jamerson. He played on records by many other musicians such as Four Tops Keeper of the Castle, Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic, Joni Mitchell's For the Roses, John Cale's Paris 1919, Billy Joel's Piano Man, Randy Newman's Sail Away and Joan Baez' Diamonds & Rust. Felder also contributed to albums from Grant Green and Michael Franks. He released the album "Inherit the Wind" with Bobby Womack in 1980.
His album Secrets, which prominently featured Bobby Womack on vocals, reached No. 77 in the UK Albums Chart in 1985. The album featured the minor hit, " I'll Still be Looking Up to You", sung by Womack and Alltrinna Grayson.
Felder died in 2015 at his home in Whittier, California from multiple myeloma. He was 75.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

  • Bullitt
  • We All Have a Star
  • Inherit the Wind
  • Gentle Fire
  • Secrets
  • Love Is a Rush
  • Nocturnal Moods
  • Forever, Always
  • Lets Spend Some Time
With The Crusaders
  • Freedom Sound
  • Lookin' Ahead
  • The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse
  • Tough Talk
  • Heat Wave
  • Jazz Waltz with Les McCann
  • Stretchin' Out
  • The Thing
  • Chile Con Soul
  • Live at the Lighthouse '66
  • Talk That Talk
  • The Festival Album
  • Uh Huh
  • Lighthouse '68
  • Powerhouse
  • Lighthouse '69
  • Pass the Plate
  • ''Scratch''

    As sideman

With Joan Baez
  • Diamonds & Rust
  • Blowin' Away
With Four Tops
  • Keeper of the Castle
  • Main Street People
  • Meeting of the Minds
  • Four Tops Live & In Concert
With Donald Byrd
  • Ethiopian Knights
With Donovan
  • Slow Down World
  • Lady of the Stars
With Jackson Browne
  • For Everyman
With John Cale
  • Paris 1919
With Michael Franks
With Marvin Gaye
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Grant Green
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
  • Welcome Home
With The Hues Corporation
  • Freedom For The Stallion
With Ronnie Laws
  • Pressure Sensitive
With Joni Mitchell
With Randy Newman
  • Sail Away
With B.B. King
  • Midnight Believer
  • Take It Home
With Harry Nilsson
  • Flash Harry
With Jennifer Warnes
With Milt Jackson
  • Memphis Jackson
With Tina Turner
  • Private Dancer
With John Klemmer
  • Constant Throb
  • Waterfalls
  • Magic and Movement
With Charles Kynard
  • Reelin' with the Feelin
With Minnie Riperton
  • Stay in Love
With Ringo Starr
With Carmen McRae
  • Can't Hide Love
With Billy Joel
  • Piano Man
  • Streetlife Serenade
With Randy Crawford
  • Now We May Begin
With Shuggie Otis
  • Here Comes Shuggie Otis
  • Freedom Flight
With Dusty Springfield
  • Cameo
With Jean-Luc Ponty
  • King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
With Seals & Crofts
  • Summer Breeze
  • Diamond Girl
  • I'll Play for You
  • Get Closer
  • Sudan Village
With Jimmy Smith
With Steely Dan
  • Pretzel Logic
  • Katy Lied
With Gerald Wilson
  • California Soul
With Hugh Masekela'
  • ''Reconstruction''