The Crusaders (jazz fusion group)
The Crusaders were an American jazz/jazz fusion group performing from the 1960s to the 2010s. The group was known as the Jazz Crusaders from their formation in 1960 until shortening their name in 1971. The Crusaders played a wide assortment of genres, including straight ahead jazz, urban R&B, R&B-based jazz, and the blues. The band reached a commercial apex in 1979 with their hit single "Street Life", featuring lead vocals by Randy Crawford, and their accompanying album of the same name.
The Crusaders in 1978
The Crusaders at Knebworth Park, UK, Capital Radio Jazz Festival, 1982
Jazz fusion is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock and roll started to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll.
Trumpet player Miles Davis was a key figure in the development of fusion
Guitarist Larry Coryell
John McLaughlin performs during his Mahavishnu Orchestra period
Spyro Gyra combines jazz with R&B, funk and pop.