On December 3, 2025, Steven Lee Cropper died aged 84. He was musician, songwriter, record producer and actor, known as “The Colonel”. He was the guitarist of the “Stax Records” house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor. He was also member of the Blues Brothers Band, and recorded and performed with many other artists including Alabama, Jimmy Barnes, William Bell, Barbi Benton, Big Star, Stephen Bishop, Frank Black, Bobby and the Midnites, Booker T. & MG.’s, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Burnette, Brian Cadd, Cate Brothers, Chicago, David Clayton Thomas, A. J. Croce, Patti Dahlstrom, Delaney & Bonnie, Ned Doheny, Yvonne Elliman, Jose Feliziano, Eddie Floyd, Peter Frampton, Richie Furay, Art Garfunkel, Cyndi Grecco, Levon Helm, Chris Hillman, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Etta James, Wynonna Judd, Albert King, B.B. King, Al Kooper, John Lennon, Ann Margret, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Craig Morgan, Aaron Neville, Wayne Newton, Harry Nilsson, John Oates, Nigel Olsson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Wilson Pickett, Michel Polnareff, John Prine, Otis Redding, Bruce Roberts, Leon Russell, Sanford & Townsend, Leo Sayer, Poncho Sanchez, Guy Sebastian, Neil Sedaka, Paul Shaffer, Paul Simon, Percy Sledge, Broderick Smith, The Soul Children, The Staple Singers, Mavis Staple, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Livingston Taylor, Carla Thomas, Mickey Thomas, Wendy Waldman, Tower of Power, The Manhattan Transfer, Dale Watson and Jerry Lynn Williams. Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him 36th on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists”. Cropper won two “Grammy Awards”, and as leader or co-leader Cropper released 13 albums.
Tag Archives: Poncho Sanchez
Cal Tjader & Carmen McRae: Heat Wave
In January 1982, “Concord Jazz” label released “Heat Wave”, album by Cal Tjader and Carmen McRae album (the 68 Cal Tjader album overall, and his final recording). It was recording in 1981, at “Coast Recorders” in San Francisco, and was produced by Carl Jefferson.
Personnel:
- Cal Tjader – vibraphone
- Carmen McRae – vocals
- Marshall Otwell – piano, arrangements
- Mark Levine – piano, arrangements
- Rob Fisher – bass
- Vince Lateano – drums
- Poncho Sanchez – congas, percussion
- Ramon Banda – percussion, timbales
- Al Bent – trombone
- Mike Heathman – trombone
- Phil Edwards – engineer
- Leonard Feather – liner notes
Track listing:
- Heat Wave – Irving Berlin
- All in Love Is Fair – Stevie Wonder
- Besame Mucho – Sunny Skylar, Consuelo Velázquez
- Evil Ways – Sonny Henry
- Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me – Duke Ellington, Bob Russell
- Love – Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
- Upside Down (Flor de Lis) – Djavan, Regina Wernech
- The Visit – Ivan Lins, Vítor Martins, Regina Wernech
- Speak Low – Ogden Nash, Kurt Weill
- Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing – Stevie Wonder
Stanley Clarke: East River Drive
On September 24, 1993, “Epic” label released “East River Drive”, the 15th Stanley Clarke album. It was recorded in 1993, at “Cherokee Studios”, “Contemporary Artist”, “Le Gonks West Studio”, “Rumba Recorders”, “Universal Scoring Stage”, and was produced by Stanley Clarke.
Personnel:
- Stanley Clarke– bass, tenor bass, background vocals
- Gerald Albright– alto and soprano saxophones
- George Howard– bass, soprano saxophone
- Doug Webb– soprano saxophone
- Todd Cochran– keyboards
- George Duke– keyboards
- Steve Hunt– keyboards
- Deron Johnson– keyboards
- Kenny Kirkland– piano
- Doc Powell– guitar
- Paul Jackson Jr.– guitar
- Armand Sabal-Lecco– guitar, piccolo bass, background vocals
- Michael Thompson– guitar
- Alphonso Johnson– bass
- Abraham Laboriel– bass
- Charles Fambrough– double bass
- Jimmy Earl– bass
- Ramon Banda – percussion
- Darryl Jackson – percussion
- Munyungo Jackson – percussion
- Bill Summers– percussion
- Gerry Brown– drums
- Dennis Chambers– drums
- John Robinson– drums
- Carlos Vega– drums
- Poncho Sanchez– conga
- Hubert Laws– flute
- Jean-Luc Ponty– violin
- Howard Hewett– vocals
- Alexis England – backing vocals
- Laura Robinson – backing vocals
- Anjani Thomas– backing vocals
- George DelBarrio – conductor, string arrangements
- Allen Sides – engineer
- Dan Humann – engineer, mixing
- Steve Sykes – engineer, mixing
- Brian Gardner– mastering
Track listing:
All tracks by Stanley Clarke except where noted.
- Justice’s Groove
- Fantasy Love – Stanley Clarke, Howard Hewett
- Zabadoobeedé? (Yabadoobeeda)
- East River Drive
- I’m Home Africa – Stanley Clarke, Jimmy Earl, Steve Hunt
- Theme from Boyz ‘n the Hood
- Christmas in Rio
- What If I Forget the Champagne
- Never Lose Your Heart/There Lies the Passion
- Illegal
- Lord of the Low Frequencies
- Funk Is Its Own Reward
Freddie Hubbard
On December 29, 2008, Frederick Dewayne “Freddie” Hubbard died aged 70. He was musician (trumpet) and composer, known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles. He has performed and recorded with many famous musicians including George Benson, Walter Benton, Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, Kenny Burrell, George Cables, Betty Carter, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Richard Davis, Eric Dolphy, Kenny Drew, Charles Earland, Bill Evan, Joe Farrell, Curtis Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Oscar Peterson, Benny Golson, Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, J.J. Johnson, Quincy Jones, John Lewis, Kirk Lightsey, Ronnie Mathews, Jackie McLean, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Wes Montgomery, Hank Mobley, Alphonse Mouzon, Oliver Nelson, Duke Pearson, Sam Rivers, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Rufus, Poncho Sanchez, Don Sebesky, Wayne Shorter, Leon Thomas, Stanley Turrentine, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton and Randy Weston.
musicalphabet 