Hank Crawford

Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford (* 21st December 1934 in Memphis , Tennessee ; † 29. January 2009 ) was an American alto saxophonist of rhythm and blues , hard bop and soul -, radio - and fusion - jazz . He was also a composer and arranger.

Life

Crawford started out at the piano and initially played in church. In high school he was a member of the school band The Rhythm Bombers . As a saxophonist, he named rhythm and blues musicians such as Louis Jordan and Earl Bostic as well as Johnny Hodges as role models. His school friends included Booker Little , George Coleman, and Phineas Newborn . After school, he began playing in Memphis in the bands of Junior Parker , Ike Turner , BB King and Bobby "Blue" Bland . In 1958 he met Ray Charles in Nashville , where he attended college , with whom he stayed until 1963 (first as a baritone saxophonist , then as an alto saxophonist, most recently as the musical director of the backing band, he also arranged for Charles in some cases). During his time with Charles he also recorded his first solo album for Atlantic , on which he brought out some rhythm and blues albums until 1970. In the 1970s he switched to the label CTI / Kudu by Creed Taylor , with a clearer jazz and funk orientation ( I Hear a Symphony 1975, arrangement David Matthews), in the 1980s to Milestone ( South Central , inter alia with Stan Hope ). He took with his own groups and u. a. with guitarist Melvin Sparks , organist Jimmy McGriff and Eric Clapton and arranged for other musicians such as Etta James , Johnny Copeland , Lou Rawls and Dr. John .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Crawford, Hank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Crawford, Bennie Ross
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American R&B and jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH	December 21, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH	Memphis (Tennessee)
DATE OF DEATH	January 29, 2009
Place of death	Memphis (Tennessee)