Wayne Henderson

Recorded performance of the Jazz Crusaders at the New Morning in Paris on November 8, 2002. Their weapons, rather than swords and lances, have always been Soul and Funk. Since the worldwide success of Street Life, the group has become an inescapable icon for lovers of sophisticated groove and a legendary musical phoenix, rising from its ashes to new life again and again Several crusades later, led by the untiring Wayne Henderson, the Jazz Cursaders are still right up there at the top.

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.