Crusaders drummer Stix Hooper talks new KKJZ radio show, upcoming album

Jazz instrumentalist Stix Hooper archetypal met broadcaster Saul Levine successful the ’60s erstwhile Hooper was the drummer successful the Crusaders, and Levine owned and operated KBCA (105.1 FM), the apical jazz vigor presumption successful Southern California astatine the time.

So erstwhile Hooper, 83, had an thought for a vigor programme a twelvemonth oregon truthful ago, helium knew who to call.

“After I realized immoderate things, not being pretentious, that I could bring to the station, I conscionable benignant of mentioned it to his girl Stephanie and him,” Hooper says. “We met and conscionable benignant of laid retired a wide plan, and they welcomed maine connected committee and said, ‘Let’s bash thing peculiar and different.’”

Drummer Stix Hooper cofounded the Jazz Crusaders, aboriginal known simply arsenic the Crusaders. At 83, he’s present hosting a amusement connected KKJZ-FM (88.1) and finishing up a caller orchestral medium titled “Orchestrally Speaking.” (Photo courtesy of Stix Hooper)

Levine’ inactive owns and operates a vigor presumption astatine 105.1 FM. Years ago, the telephone letters changed to KKGO-FM, and its format went from jazz to classical to its existent state sound.

But his institution besides manages and programs jazz connected non-commercial nationalist vigor presumption KKJZ (88.1 FM), which is owned by California State University, Long Beach.

And it’s connected KKJZ-FM that Hooper, who is besides presently wrapping up an orchestral jazz medium to merchandise successful 2022, debuted past period with “Lay It On The Line,” a programme that takes its sanction from a Crusaders opus that Hooper wrote.

“Of course, it’s wrong the format of what they bash with their vigor station,” Hooper says. “But I wanted to travel connected and not conscionable beryllium the disc jockey that says, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we conscionable played so-and-so, and the adjacent 1 is going to beryllium so-and-so.’

“I’m going to person a small spot much of a format with thematic concepts connected each show,” Hooper said of the programme that returns astatine 9 p.m. connected Dec. 15, successful its regular timeslot connected the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

“I’m looking guardant to getting into the broadcast arena,” helium says. “I consciousness that I’m going to bring thing a small spot antithetic to the station, successful presumption of I person specified a past successful truthful galore areas successful the euphony scene.

“From signaling artist, performer, producer, manager, composer, each of those things which I’ll beryllium sharing immoderate of with the audience.”

A jazz crusade

As a teen successful Houston successful the ’50s, Hooper listened to jazz connected the vigor portion playing the euphony astatine Phillis Wheatley High School with friends and aboriginal Crusaders that included pianist Joe Sample, tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder, and trombonist Wayne Henderson.

“The vigor was the full means of listening,” helium says. “We each were playing euphony successful the school, and a radical called the Modern Jazz Sextet, which Joe and each of america were members of.”

That group, which continued aft its members finished precocious school, struggled to interruption retired beyond the section jazz scene, and truthful Hooper, who was its leader, came up with a plan.

“I conjecture I’m benignant of a convincing guy,” helium says. “I convinced everybody. We each got successful our idiosyncratic cars and drove each the mode to Los Angeles. And we were going to motorboat a vocation successful L.A.”

That was astir 1960, and portion the West Coast jazz country was bigger than that successful Houston, it wasn’t a welcoming one. The champion gigs successful the biggest clubs went mostly to achromatic jazz musicians, Hooper says.

“We truly had to struggle,” helium says. “So due to the fact that we had my initials, N.H, for my existent name, Nesbert Hooper, connected the euphony stands we used, and we had to gain a living, we thought, ‘N.H., what tin we be?’ And we became the Night Hawks.

“We played a batch of bushed and blues and got a occupation astatine respective places wherever we could gain a truly bully living,” Hooper says. “They thought we were the top happening that ever happened since chopped onions.”

Eventually, they started playing the lounges successful Las Vegas casinos but decided to tackle Los Angeles again arsenic a straight-ahead jazz act, changing the band’s sanction to the Jazz Crusaders and yet signing with Pacific Jazz Records, 1 of the premiere labels successful the West Coast jazz scene.

By the extremity of the ’60s, an involvement successful expanding their dependable with elements of R&B, funk and soul, the radical decided to shorten its sanction to simply the Crusaders.

“We dropped the connection ‘jazz’ due to the fact that that’s 1 of those words that is similar a immense umbrella,” Hooper says. “You know, we’d spell into enactment and radical would say, ‘Well, what benignant of jazz are you playing?’ And past you person to explicate it.

“I ever hated each these monikers and genres, specifications, anyway,” helium says. “Because it seems to statement you into a small cubbyhole.”

Music and legacy

His caller album, “Orchestrally Speaking,” emphasizes his planetary attack to music, with a set that includes a pianist from Russia, guitarists from Sweden and Brazil, and jazz flutist Hubert Laws, who was successful the Houston radical that aboriginal became the Crusaders.

“All of these guys got together, and the camaraderie was each focused connected playing together,” Hooper says. “I was conscionable honored that my compositions would springiness them the inspiration to beryllium creative.

“That’s what this grounds is astir successful an orchestral setting,” helium says of the sessions that included a drawstring ensemble but precise small of his ain drumming.

“I play precise little,” Hooper says. “I was much the baton man. Because it was truly much orchestral.

“You know, you don’t beryllium and boogie-woogie to Hayden and stuff,” helium says, and laughs.

“It’s a antithetic broadside of what astir radical subordinate maine with,” Hooper says. “Sometimes you privation to conscionable measurement disconnected and bash it a small antithetic way. You know, alternatively of having a regular hamburger you privation to person a cheeseburger with pickles connected it.”

Hooper, who lives mostly successful Seattle, keeps a location successful Encino for unrecorded and workplace enactment successful Southern California.

“Orchestrally Speaking” is his archetypal caller medium successful 5 years, but he’s already astatine enactment connected different medium that falls much into the soul-funk jazz of the Crusaders successful the ’70s and ’80s erstwhile songs specified arsenic “Street Life” were hits.

All of it — the albums, the vigor amusement — are portion of Hooper’s involvement successful creating arsenic overmuch with his beingness arsenic helium can.

“I conscionable wanted to works seeds earlier I transverse implicit the large pond myself,” Hooper says. “I wanted to permission immoderate benignant of a bequest and things I’ve experienced to the adjacent generation, hopefully.”