Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B teno ...

, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for

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

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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, CTI and

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

Biography

Crawford was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, 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 saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

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 " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, 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 Ben F. Branch (January 8, 1928 – August 27, 1987)

and Ike Turner. In 1958, Crawford went to college at

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. 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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. 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 who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, 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 '' Billboards 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 Ronald Edward Cuber (December 25, 1941 – October 7, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. He also played in Latin, pop, rock, and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he played tenor sax, soprano sax, clarine ...

and David Newman, on B.B. King's ''

There Must Be a Better World Somewhere ''There Must Be a Better World Somewhere'' is the twenty seventh studio album by B. B. King released in 1981. It was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording the following year. Track listing All tracks composed by Do ...

''. 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 Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

.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 Jimmy McGriff. 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 pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

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. The cause was complications of a

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

he had in 2000, his sister Delores said.

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 and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

*'' Journeyman'' (Warner Bros., 1989) With Grant Green *'' Easy'' (Versatile, 1978) With Johnny Hammond *'' Breakout'' (Kudu/CTI Records, 1971) With

*'' The Right Time'' (Elektra, 1992) With B.B. King *''

'' (MCA, 1981) *'' Let the Good Times Roll'' (MCA, 1999) With David "Fathead" Newman *'' Fathead Comes On'' (Atlantic, 1962) *''

Still Hard Times ''Still Hard Times'' is an album by saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman recorded in 1982 and released on the Muse label.

'' (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 saxophonists American male jazz musicians CTI Records artists 20th-century American male musicians