Andrew Woolfolk, Longtime Saxophonist For Earth, Wind & Fire, Dead At 71

The man who provided the signature sound for some of Earth, Wind & Fire's biggest hits is no more.

Andrew Woolfolk, a longtime saxophonist for the group, whose work on the soprano and tenor sax were core elements of some of EWF's biggest hits — including "September," Boogie Wonderland" and "Shining Star," passed away earlier in the week. He was 71.

Bandmate Philip Bailey, the falsetto-voiced singer who often shared lead vocalist duties with group founder Maurice White, announced the news on Instagram Monday.

“I met him in high school, and we quickly became friends and band mates,” wrote Bailey. “We lost him today, after being ill of over six years. He has transitioned on to the forever, from this land of the dying to the land of the living.”

A native of Denver, Colorado, Woolfolk joined the band in 1972. Officially a member from 1973 to 1985, and again from 1987 to 1993, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2000. He is also a member of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

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In addition to his work with EWF Woolfolk had a prolific body of work.

He played saxophone on Bailey's 1984 Grammy-nominated album "The Wonders of His Love", as well as Bailey's 1986 Grammy-winning album "Triumph." Woolfolk also played on Phil Collin's 1996 album "Dance Into the Light," and collaborated with other artists like Deniece Williams and the English jazz-funk band Level 42.

Bailey closed his post: "Great memories. Great Talent. Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling. Booski… I’ll see you on the other side, my friend.”

It was another huge loss for fans of the group and its innovative and ever-evolving sound. EWF founder White, the baritone that played off Bailey's falsetto on some of the band's biggest hits, died on February 4, 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Kevin Hart Launches Global Multi-Platform Company HARTBEAT With $100 Million Investment

HARTBEAT’s Chief Content Officer Bryan Smiley, Chairman Kevin Hart, CEO Thai Randolph and Chief Distribution Officer Jeff Clanagan.

Kevin Hart is laughing all the way to the bank.

The stand-up comedian turned movie star has proven he has what it takes to shine in the business world as well.

Tuesday, he announced, thanks to a $100 million investment from private equity firm Abry Partners, the expansion of his already formidable media empire.

The new venture, born of a merger of his two current production companies, Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, will simply be called HARTBEAT.

'"The creation of HARTBEAT and our capital raise with Abry represent a new era in comedy," said Hart in a statement released by the company about the deal. 

"This all started out with a mission to keep the world laughing together, and I'm so proud our teams have delivered on that, putting in the hard work to build the most innovative and inclusive comedic storytelling company."

The new company is reportedly valued at over $650 million. Abry's minority stake in it equates to about 15%. Hart will act as chairman. The existing leadership team from both entities will continue to oversee day-to-day operations. Thai Randolph, who had been the chief operating officer of both Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, was named chief executive.

HARTBEAT will use the investment to grow existing brands, produce new content and grow its team.

"At HARTBEAT, we're building an end-to-end entertainment enterprise that creates, markets and distributes the most culturally relevant IP and experiences in comedy and beyond. The merger and capital raise help us further scale and invest in the future of comedic entertainment, creating more high demand content and experiences at the intersection of comedy and culture," Randolph stated.

Abry Partners partner Nicolas Massard will be joining the HARTBEAT board as part of the deal. NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, which took an equity stake in Laugh Out Loud in 2020, will remain a shareholder.

The company has 60 projects in various stages of development across various platforms, and in addition to a first-look deal with Peacock, boasts several other strategic multi-year partnerships. HARTBEAT has a film deal with Netflix, a partnership with SiriusXM, and a deal with Audible in partnership with multimedia star Charlamagne Tha God.

Upcoming projects for the company include "Me Time," a Netflix movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall, "Storytown" on HBOMax and an Apple TV+ documentary, "#1 on the Call Sheet."

'Stix' Hooper, Co-Founder of Seminal Jazz and R&B Quintet Crusaders, Latest Album Drops Thursday

The Crusaders may be gone, but the man behind the band's beat soldiers on.

Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, co-founder and the only surviving member of the original lineup of the seminal jazz and R&B band, is dropping his latest album “Orchestrally Speaking” on Thursday.

“This new recording features a group of international musicians, reflecting the universal appeal and global influence of music,” said Hooper of the release in a statement which also noted that it features seven tracks bridging a variety of genres from jazz to classical and Latin rhythms.

The artist, who received numerous Grammy nominations for his work with the Crusaders, gathered an all-star group of international musicians to join him, including American flautist Hubert Laws, Russian pianist Eugene Maslov, Swedish guitarist Andreas Oberg and late Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves.

Revisiting many of his own original compositions in the process of exploring the orchestral genre results in a record that reflects both the evolution and culmination of the full musical spectrum of Hooper’s career.

“Free of cultural, ethnic, and racial boundaries, it celebrates the artistic camaraderie and integrity that results when kindred artistic spirits share a common bond of personal expression. I’m very excited about it,” said Hooper of the resulting album.

Ueli Frey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hooper began his career in 1950's Texas when he along with fellow Houston natives Joe Sample (piano) and Wilton Felder (tenor saxophone) founded the jazz and R&B group the Swingsters in 1954.

After a few lineup changes and moving to a jazzier sound, the trio moved to Los Angeles and formed the Jazz Crusaders, along with trombonist Wayne Henderson who had also played with them in their original group. Working with a succession of different bass players to form a quintet, the group went on to have critical and billboard success in the ’60s and ’70s

The peak of their popularity came in the late 70s when the band, now simply known as the Crusaders, released 1979's “Street Life.” The album was the No. 1 jazz album on Billboard’s charts and reached No. 3 and No. 18 on the R&B and pop charts, respectively.

While the title track, which featured Randy Crawford as the featured singer, was a Top 40 single (No. 36). It was also an international hit taking the No. 5 spot on the UK Singles Chart.

A faster-paced cover of the arrangement (see the original video below) done by Doc Severinsen in collaboration with Crawford was used in multiple films, including Quentin Tarantino's “Jackie Brown,” released in 1997.