Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop,

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

before embarking on a solo career releasing many well-regarded albums for labels such as

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, CTI and Milestone.

Biography

Crawford was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, United States. He began formal piano studies at the age of nine and was soon playing for his church choir. His father had brought an alto saxophone home from the service and when Hank entered Manassas High School, he took it up in order to join the band. He credits

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April25, 1913October28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing music, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, whi ...

and

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

as early influences. Crawford appears on an early 1952 Memphis recording for B.B. King, with a band including Ben Branch and Ike Turner. In 1958, Crawford went to college at Tennessee State University in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. While at TSU, he majored in music studying theory and composition, as well as playing alto and baritone saxophone in the Tennessee State Jazz Collegians. He also led his own rock 'n' roll quartet, "Little Hank and the Rhythm Kings". His bandmates all thought he looked and sounded just like Hank O'Day, a local saxophonist, which earned him the nickname "Hank". This is when Crawford met

, who hired Crawford originally as a baritone saxophonist. Crawford switched to alto in 1959, and remained with Charles' band — becoming its musical director until 1963. When Crawford left Ray Charles in 1963 to form his own septet, he had already established himself with several albums for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. From 1960 until 1970, he recorded twelve LPs for the label, many while balancing his earlier duties as Ray's director. He released such pre-crossover hits as " Misty", "The Peeper", " Whispering Grass", and "Shake-A-Plenty". He also has done musical arrangement for

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

, Lou Rawls, and others. Much of his career has been in R&B, but in the 1970s he had several successful jazz albums, with ''I Hear a Symphony'' reaching 11 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Jazz albums list and 159 for Pop albums.

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

cites Crawford as being one of his primary influences. Crawford is recognized by saxophonists as having a particularly unique and pleasing sound. In 1981, he featured, with fellow horn players Ronnie Cuber and David Newman, on B.B. King's '' There Must Be a Better World Somewhere''. In 1983 he moved to Milestone Records as a premier arranger, soloist, and composer, writing for small bands including guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist

Jimmy McGriff James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McGriff started playing pia ...

, and Dr. John.Vladimir, Bogdanov. ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'', Backbeat Books, p. 133 (2003) - In 1986, Crawford began working with blues-jazz organ master

. They recorded five co-leader dates for Milestone Records: ''Soul Survivors'', ''Steppin' Up'', ''On the Blue Side'', ''Road Tested'', and ''Crunch Time'', as well as two dates for Telarc Records: ''Right Turn on Blue'' and ''Blues Groove''. The two toured together extensively. The new century found Crawford shifting gears and going for a more mainstream jazz set in his 2000 release ''The World of Hank Crawford''. Though the songs are compositions from jazz masters such as

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

, he delivers in that sanctified church sound that is his trademark. Followed by ''The Best of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff'' (2001). Crawford died on January 29, 2009, at his home in Memphis, aged 74, due to complications arising from an earlier

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With

*'' Ray Charles at Newport'' (Atlantic, 1958) *'' What'd I Say'' (Atlantic, 1959) *'' Ray Charles in Person'' (Atlantic, 1959) *'' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music'' (ABC-Paramount, 1962) With

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

*''

Journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1989) With

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

*'' Easy'' (Versatile, 1978) With Johnny Hammond *'' Breakout'' (Kudu/CTI Records, 1971) With

*'' The Right Time'' (Elektra, 1992) With B.B. King *'' There Must Be a Better World Somewhere'' (MCA, 1981) *'' Let the Good Times Roll'' (MCA, 1999) With David "Fathead" Newman *'' Fathead Comes On'' (Atlantic, 1962) *'' Still Hard Times'' (Muse, 1982) *'' Fire! Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Atlantic, 1989) With Shirley Scott *'' Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes'' (Atlantic, 1969) With Janis Siegel *''The Tender Trap'' (Monarch, 1999)

References

External links

Hank Crawford bioAll About Jazz: Hank Crawford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Hank 1934 births 2009 deaths American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists Crossover jazz saxophonists Hard bop saxophonists Jazz-funk saxophonists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Ray Charles Rhythm and blues saxophonists Soul-jazz saxophonists Tennessee State University alumni Atlantic Records artists Milestone Records artists Columbia Records artists 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz pianists American male jazz musicians CTI Records artists 20th-century American male musicians