Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample (born February 1, 1939 in Houston, Texas) is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 (not including the 2003 reunion album "Rural Renewal").
Sample began playing the piano when he was five years old. Since the early 1980's, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and has guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Steely Dan. Although it received less radio airplay than several of his other releases, Invitation is considered by many to be his finest solo recording to date.
Some of his works are featured on The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s, and Nicole Kidman sang his song "One Day I'll Fly Away" in the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge!
