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Hank Crawford
Hank Crawford
Background information
Birth name	Bennie Ross Crawford, Jr
Born	December 21, 1934; Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	January 29, 2009 (aged 74); Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist, songwriter
Instrument(s)	alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, piano
Years active	1958–2009
Labels	Milestone, Atlantic

Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009)^[1] was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for Ray Charles before embarking on a solo career releasing many well-regarded albums for labels such as Atlantic, CTI and Milestone.

Biography

Crawford was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.^[2] 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.^[3]

In 1958, Crawford went to college at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee.^[2] 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".^[4] This is when Crawford met Ray Charles, who hired Crawford originally as a baritone saxophonist.^[2] Crawford switched to alto in 1959,^[2] and remained with Charles' band — becoming its musical director until 1963.^[5]

When Crawford left Ray Charles in 1963 to form his own septet, he had already established himself with several albums for Atlantic Records.^[2] 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, Lou Rawls, and others.^[6] 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.^[7]^[8] Crawford is recognized by saxophonists as having a particularly unique and pleasing sound.^[9] 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.^[10] In 1986, Crawford began working with blues-jazz organ master Jimmy McGriff.^[2] 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 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).

Crawford died on January 29, 2009, at his home in Memphis, aged 74, due to complications arising from an earlier stroke.^[1]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year	Title	Label
1961	More Soul	Atlantic Records
1962	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
1970	The Best of Hank Crawford (compilation)	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 with Calvin Newborn	Buddah Records
1982	Midnight Ramble	Milestone Records
1983	Indigo Blue	Milestone
1984	Down on the Deuce	Milestone
1985	Roadhouse Symphony	Milestone
1986	Soul Survivors with Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
1986	Mr. Chips	Milestone
1987	Steppin' Up with Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
1989	Night Beat	Milestone
1989	On the Blue Side with Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
1990	Groove Master	Milestone
1990	Bossa International with Richie Cole	Milestone
1991	Portrait with Johnny "Hammond" Smith	Milestone
1993	South Central	Milestone
1994	Right Turn on Blue with Jimmy McGriff	Telarc Records
1995	Blues Groove with Jimmy McGriff	Telarc
1996	Tight	Milestone
1997	Road Tested with Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
1998	After Dark	Milestone
1999	Crunch Time with Jimmy McGriff	Milestone
2000	The World of Hank Crawford	Milestone
2001	The Best of Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff (compilation)	Milestone

As sideman

With Ray Charles

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

Journeyman (Warner Bros., 1989)

With Grant Green

Easy (Versatile, 1978)

With Johnny Hammond

Breakout (Kudu/CTI Records, 1971)

With Etta James

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

^ ^a ^b Weber, Bruce (February 3, 2009). "Hank Crawford, Prolific Saxophonist, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 578/9. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
^ Robert Palmer (December 21, 1982). Deep Blues. Penguin Books. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6.
^ "Hank Crawford dies at 74; saxophonist in Ray Charles' band". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
^ Lydon, Michael. Ray Charles: Man and Music, Routledge, p. 144 (2004) - ISBN 0-415-97043-1
^ "Down Beat Profile". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
^ Fairweather, Digby. The Rough Guide to Jazz, Rough Guides, p. 694 (2004) - ISBN 1-84353-256-5
^ Balfany, Greg (January–February 1989). "David Sanborn". Saxophone Journal. Vol. 13, no. 4. pp. 28–31.
^ Hank Crawford on Nightmusic on YouTube
^ Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, p. 133 (2003) - ISBN 0-87930-736-6