Hank Crawford

With an unmistakable blues wail steeped in raw emotion and poignancy, altoist Hank Crawford connects the blues lineage to jazz more fully than any other living horn player. Raised in Memphis amid the blues from childhood onward, he first took up piano before shifting to alto after his father returned from military service with one in hand. Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges shaped his earliest listening, while high-school years in the city brought regular encounters with Phineas Newborn, Jr., Booker Little, and George Coleman. Following graduation, he performed regularly in Memphis at the Palace Theater and Club Paradise alongside bands led by Ike Turner, B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Bobby "Blue" Bland.

In 1958 Crawford enrolled in college in Nashville, where he first crossed paths with Ray Charles. Initially engaged by Charles as a baritone saxophonist, he moved to alto in 1959 and stayed with the ensemble until 1963, serving as its musical director. The phrasing and voicings absorbed during those years became defining traits of his own approach, and he contributed an original arrangement, “Sherry,” which appeared on the Live at Newport album. While still a member of the band he recorded numerous solo sessions for Atlantic; after forming his own group he remained with the label through 1970.

He joined Creed Taylor’s Kudu imprint in 1971 and produced a run of fusion-oriented groove-jazz albums that continued until 1982. Moving to Milestone in 1983, he reasserted himself as a leading arranger, soloist, and composer, creating material for both compact ensembles featuring guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist Jimmy McGriff, and Dr. John and for larger ensembles. Since that time Crawford has maintained steady activity as both leader and sideman, documenting some of the strongest work of his extended career.