“Blues is like the white dust in the neighborhood from the oyster-shell streets,” he told the Chronicle. “It’s a natural thing in this region. Certain things I can play with musicians from here that I cannot play with other musicians from Chicago or Seattle or Boston or New York. They simply do not feel it.”
Sample was also an in-demand session player in the ’70s, having worked with B.B. King, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye and numerous others.
Sample is survived by his wife Yolanda and his son Niklas.
Legendary Jazz Pianist, Joe Sample Dies was originally published on blackdoctor.org
