Hank Crawford

Hank Crawford
Birth name	Bennie Ross Crawford, Jr
Born	(1934-12-21)December 21, 1934
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died
Genres	R&B, Hard bop, Jazz-funk, Soul jazz
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist, Songwriter
Instruments	Alto/Baritone Saxophone, Piano
Years active	1958–2009
Labels	Milestone, Atlantic
Associated acts	Jimmy McGriff, Richie Cole

Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter. Crawford was musical director for Ray Charles before embarking on a solo career releasing many well-regarded albums on Atlantic, CTI and Milestone.

Biography

Crawford was born in Memphis, Tennessee. 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, Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic and Johnny Hodges 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. 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 legendary local saxophonist, which earned him the nickname "Hank". This is when Crawford met Ray Charles, 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. 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”, “Skunky Green”, and “Whispering Grass”.

He also has done musical arrangement for Etta James, 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's Jazz albums list and 159 for Pop albums.

David Sanborn 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, and Dr. John. In 1986, Crawford began working with blues-jazz organ master Jimmy McGriff. They recorded four co-leader dates for Milestone Records: Soul Survivors, Steppin’ Up, On the Blue Side, and Road Tested, and 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 and Tadd Dameron, he delivers in that sanctified church sound that is his trademark. Followed by The Best of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff (2001), and Back (2007).

He had two children, Michael A. Crawford and Sherri L. Crawford, and a grandchild, Tiffany M. Crawford.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year	Title	Label
1960	More Soul	Atlantic
1961	The Soul Clinic	Atlantic
1962	From the Heart	Atlantic
1963	Soul of the Ballad	Atlantic
1964	True Blue	Atlantic
1965	Dig These Blues	Atlantic
1966	After Hours	Atlantic
1967	Mr. Blues	Atlantic
1968	Double Cross	Atlantic
1969	Mr. Blues Plays Lady Soul	Atlantic
1971	It's a Funky Thing to Do	Cotillion (Atlantic)
1972	Help Me Make it Through the Night	Kudu (CTI Records)
1972	We Got a Good Thing Going	Kudu
1973	Wildflower	Kudu
1974	Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing	Kudu
1975	I Hear a Symphony	Kudu
1976	Hank Crawford's Back	Kudu
1977	Tico Rico	Kudu
1978	Cajun Sunrise	Kudu
1980	Centerpiece (Hank Crawford & Calvin Newborne)	Buddah Records
1982	Midnight Ramble	Milestone Records
1983	Indigo Blue	Milestone
1984	Down On The Deuce	Milestone
1985	Roadhouse Symphony	Milestone
1986	Soul Survivors (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Milestone
1986	Mr. Chips	Milestone
1987	Steppin' Up (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Milestone
1989	Night Beat	Milestone
1989	On the Blue Side (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Milestone
1990	Groove Master	Milestone
1990	Bossa International (Richie Cole and Hank Crawford)	Milestone
1993	South Central	Milestone
1994	Right Turn On Blue (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Telarc
1995	Blues Groove (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Telarc
1996	Tight	Milestone
1997	Road Tested (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Milestone
1998	After Dark	Milestone
1999	Crunch Time (Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff)	Milestone
2000	The World of Hank Crawford	Milestone
2001	The Best of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
2007	Back	King

As sideman

With Ray Charles

• Ray Charles at Newport (1958)
• What'd I Say (1959)
• Ray Charles in Person (1959)
• Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)

With Eric Clapton

• Journeyman (1989)

With Grant Green

• Easy (Versatile, 1978)

With Johnny Hammond

• Breakout (Kudu, 1971)

With B.B. King

• There Must Be a Better World Somewhere (1981)
• Let the Good Times Roll (1999)

With David "Fathead" Newman

• Fathead Comes On (Atlantic, 1962)

With Shirley Scott

• Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes (Atlantic, 1969)

With Janis Siegel

• The Tender Trap (Monarch, 1999)

External links

• Hank Crawford bio
• All About Jazz: Hank Crawford