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.

Biography

Felder was born 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 combo into a pioneering jazz-rock fusion group, 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" and "The Love You Save", as well as for Marvin Gaye and Grant Green. He also played bass for soft rock groups like Seals and Crofts. Also of note were his contributions to the John Cale album Paris 1919, Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic, and Billy Joel's Piano Man and Streetlife Serenade albums. He was one of three bass players on Randy Newman's Sail Away and Joan Baez' Diamonds & Rust. Felder also anchored albums from Joni Mitchell and Michael Franks.
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 played a King Super 20 tenor sax with a metal 105/0 Berg Larsen mouthpiece. He also used Yamaha saxes. He played a Fender Telecaster bass, and also played Aria bass guitars.
Felder died in 2015 at his home in Whittier, California from multiple myeloma. He was 75.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With The Crusaders
With Donald Byrd
With Joan Baez
With John Cale
With Michael Franks
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Grant Green
  • Shades of Green
  • Live at The Lighthouse
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
  • Welcome Home
With Harry Nilsson
  • Flash Harry
With Marvin Gaye
With Matraca Berg
With Paul Anka
  • The Painter
With Solomon Burke
  • Electronic Magnetism
With Donovan
  • Slow Down World
  • Lady of the Stars
With Jackson Browne
  • For Everyman
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
With Minnie Riperton
With Ringo Starr
With Carmen McRae
With Billy Joel
With Randy Crawford
With Joni Mitchell
With B.B. King
With Wendy Waldman
With Randy Newman
With Shuggie Otis
With Dusty Springfield
With Jean-Luc Ponty
  • '
With Seals & Crofts
  • Summer Breeze
  • Diamond Girl
  • I'll Play for You
  • Get Closer
  • Sudan Village
With Jimmy Smith
  • Root Down
With Steely Dan
  • Pretzel Logic
With Gerald Wilson
  • California Soul
With Hugh Masekela'