The Rep Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 Sorry to tell you but I just heard Hank Crawford died on thursday 29th January at the age of 74. Thank you for the music Hank. In great sadness, The Rep. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 Damn! The old band is assembling. Quote
CJ Shearn Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 damn, two of Ray's guys in a week. Hank had such a great tone Quote
The Rep Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Posted January 31, 2009 Damn! The old band is assembling. Perhaps they are going to make some heavenly music together. We will remember fondly. The Rep Quote
Christiern Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 Sad news, and it came just as I was about to post his picture on the photo thread. Hank Crawford (Joe Rosen) His melody lingers on... Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 I don't know which hits me harder - David or Hank. Hank had, I understand, been ill for some time and had retired from music as a result. So it's less of a surprise. But, God, I loved those guys' music! RIP, Hank. MG Quote
PHILLYQ Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) I met Hank Crawford once- he was a very friendly, warm, down to earth guy. RIP- thanks for the great music and for being such a cool guy. Edited January 31, 2009 by PHILLYQ Quote
Guest Bill Barton Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 R.I.P. The deep soulfulness of his playing lives on. Quote
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 RIP Hank Crawford- never forget the 1 time i saw u w/ jimmy mcgriff band Quote
JSngry Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 One of the most pleasant musical surprises I've had was in winter of 1982, in Birmingham, Alabama. I was in town for three weeks w/a touring "hotel show band" (remember those?) & discovered that Cleveland Eaton had returned home to Birmngham & opened a club. A local unit was the house band, but one weekend, the "special guest artist" was none other than Hank Crawford. Well, ok. I only knew Hank Crawford then as a soulful funk-jazz player and a balladeer of uncommon directness. I wanted to catch a set or two "just because". So when the last set of the hotel gig ended on Saturday, some of us hauled over to Cleve's Place (as it was imaginatively called...) and lo and be-hold, there was Hank Crawford doing nothing but playing BEBOP all night long, and playing it quite well! If I would've known my history as well then as I do now (no, I didn't know that it was him who played the bari solo on "Hard Times". I just assumed that that was Leroy Cooper...), this would not have been a surprise, but I didn't, and it was. I got to "talk shop" w/Hank on a break, and asked him about his setup. Given the bright, edgy tone he had, I just assumed that he was playing some wide-open mouthpiece with a fairly stiff reed. Quite to contrary, he played a very moderately-open rubber Meyer (iirc) and used medium-strenght reeeds. I asked him how he got that sound out of that setup, and he smiled and said something like "it's all in the air, how you blow it through the horn". Well, this is someth9ing I already knew, but not to the degree that his playing proved that night. A better lesson about the impact that directed, focused airflow and the role that throat/diaphragm coordination played in getting a certain sound, more than a simple "hardware" fix could have, could not have been had, at any price. Same thing for a lesson about how what you hear on a record might not always be a true reflection of a player's full capacities and capabilities, and definitely the lesson about how a player who strikes a "populist" chord can do so by distilling their essence every bit as much as by diluting it. Fathead I got immediately. Fathead was home. Fathead was the Mother Tongue. Hank Crawford it took me that night in Birmingham to get. But I got it, and shortly thereafter began the long run of Milestone albums that began to veer more towards the Hank Crawford that I had heard in person. I was blessed to hear Hank Crawford that night, and we as a musical culture were blessed by Hank Crawford in all of his guises. He really was the same in all of them, it was just the lighting and camera angles, the externals, that would change. The interior was a beautiful core of eternal solidity. RIP, and thank you, more than you know. Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 A musician with more soul. Hank was born Bennie Ross Crawford Jr in Memphis on 21 December 1934. He grew up with the blues. And he grew up with Bebop. As Hank began to develop his musical skills, Memphis was the centre of blues innovation; B B King, Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Earl Forest and Ike Turner were all working on a more urban sound to the blues than the older generation of blues singers, who had moved to Chicago, were producing. And Hank, like many of his peers, was caught up in it; in late 1951, aged nearly 17, Hank played alto on B B King’s first hit single, “Three O’clock Blues”. So were many of his classmates: Calvin and Phineas Newborn; Booker Little; George Coleman; Frank Strozier; and Harold Mabern. Hank, like the others, had a passionate interest in the new music that was coming out of New York; Bebop. The evenings after school were spent practicing Charlie Parker solos, the nights were spent at the Midnight Rambles, hosted by Rufus Thomas, playing behind blues and R&B singers, like King, Bland and Ruth Brown. Hank’s sound was that of the great lead alto players, Tab Smith in particular, combined with the stone blues sound of “Parker’s Mood”. The combination gave Hank a sound much tougher than Parker’s; a sound that cannot be denied; an urgent, wailing, sound that is the essence of the blues. His approach to ballads was sincere and solid, but always informed by the very basic blues. Hank’s alto sound carried almost the whole weight of his expression; he wasn’t a man whose vision drove him all over his horn; there is little improvisation in the formal sense. But there’s that sound! And the phrasing! After school, Hank pursued his musical education at Tennessee State College. In 1958, he was hired by Ray Charles to take the baritone sax chair in his small band. Hank’s baritone playing is quite unlike his alto playing; Hank is an excellent Bebop baritone player. Hank stayed with Ray until 1963, during which time he learned much about arranging from Ray. Check out his arranging behind Percy Mayfield on Percy’s “My jug and I”. He also became the straw boss of the band, which grew from seven pieces to a big band in that period. When Leroy “Hog” Cooper joined the band in 1960, Hank took the alto chair. When Ray left Atlantic in 1960 to sign with ABC, Atlantic promptly signed Hank to a recording contract and Hank recorded some of his finest albums using his colleagues from Ray’s band. His arranging skills were at their most supreme on three of these albums: “From the heart”; “True blue” and “Dig these blues”. The voicing of the horns is as perfectly mellow as could be imagined. He also began to play piano on these recordings. His piano style sounds extremely primitive in the manner of the old time barrelhouse players. After eleven albums for Atlantic, Hank was signed by Creed Taylor and released eight albums on Kudu. One, “Wildflower” is probably the finest example of Taylor’s successful attempt to make “themes in search of a car chase”. The records are not really as bad as they seem, largely due to Hank’s uncompromising blues sound, but though he had three hit albums, this must be regarded as a poor patch in Hank’s career. After CTI collapsed, Hank went back to doing arranging work. He formed an association with Dr John and provided the horn arrangements for B B King’s Grammy-winning “There must be a better world somewhere”, as well as for one of Lou Rawls’ best albums, “Shades of blue” and Jimmy Witherspoon’s “Midnight lady called the blues”. In this period, too, he began to record for a new label that sought, unsuccessfully, to step into Creed Taylor’s shoes; Versatile. He played alto and baritone on Grant Green’s last album, “Easy”, and he and Calvin Newborn recorded a joint effort, the superb “Centerpiece”, on which Hank played mostly electric piano. He and David Newman, with Calvin, visited Britain in 1982, where Hank once more recorded on piano with Calvin on the great album, “From the hip”. He was, at the time, preparing for his first album following signing a contract with Fantasy. Hank made 18 albums for Milestone, five of them jointly with Jimmy McGriff (plus two with McGriff for Telarc). The Milestone period represents the greatest, sustained, body of top drawer work by Hank. (The exception is “Bossa International”, a live set recorded in Nice, with Ritchie Cole. As might be expected, Cole runs rings around Hank, who would have been more at home had he brought his baritone sax to the gig.) Hank’s last recording, in 2000, was, in my view, his best. “The world of Hank Crawford” covered the entirety of Hank’s musical vision; Salsa, ballads, Bebop, shuffle blues, funky Soul Jazz classics, and Swing. I saw him twice; with David Newman and Calvin Newborn at Ronnie’s, the first time I’d ever been. I sat with him during one of the off sets and found him to be a very pleasant man; he was astounded to hear I’d been following his career since 1960! I saw him again in 1988, with Jimmy McGriff and Bobby Broom, in Bristol. But that was an Acid Jazz gig; a thousand or so kids in a barn of a place with no room for the musicians to mingle or even sit down! (My wife was more impressed with the nicely turned legs on Jimmy’s B3 than with Hank’s playing ) So glad I managed to see him in both contexts! (And thanks Jim for your personal story, too.) Here’s a list of Hank’s albums as a leader or co-leader More soul – Atlantic 1356 - 10/1960 The soul clinic – Atlantic 1372 - 10/1960&2&5/1961 From the heart – Atlantic 1387 - 11/1961&4&5/1962 Soul of the ballad – Atlantic 1405 - 2/1963 True blue – Atlantic 1423 - 6&10/1963&3/1964 Dig these blues – Atlantic 1436 - 4&12/1964 & 2/1965 After hours – Atlantic 1455 - 10&11/1965&1/1966 Mr Blues - Atlantic 1470 - 10&11/1965&1&3/1966 Double cross – Atlantic 1503 - 10/1965&11/1967 Mr Blues plays Lady Soul – Atlantic 1523 - 2/1969 A funky thing to do – Cotillion 18003 - 12/1970 Help me make it through the night – Kudu 06 - 8/1971&1/1972 We've got a good thing going - Kudu 08 - 9&10/1972 Wildflower - Kudu 15 - 6/1973 Don't you worry 'bout a thing – Kudu 19 - 6/1974 I hear a symphony – Kudu 26 - 6&7/1975 Hank Crawford's back – Kudu 33 - 1976 Tico rico - Kudu 35 - 11/1976 Cajun sunrise – Kudu 39 - 2&3/1978 Centerpiece - Versatile BDS5730 - 10&11/1978 (with Calvin Newborn) Midnight Ramble – Milestone 9112 - 11/1982 Indigo blue - Milestone 9119 - 8/1983 Down on the Deuce - Milestone 9129 - 6/1984 Roadhouse symphony - Milestone 9140 - 8/1985 Soul survivors - Milestone 9142 - 1/1986 (with Jimmy McGriff) Mr Chips – Milestone 9149 - 11/1986 Steppin up - Milestone 9153 - 6/1987 (with Jimmy McGriff) Bossa international - Milestone 9180 - 7/1987 (with Richie Cole) Night beat – Milestone 9168 - 9&10/1988 On the blue side – Milestone 9177 - 4&8/1989 (with Jimmy McGriff) Groove master - Milestone 9182 - 1&3/1990 South-Central – Milestone 9201 - 2/1990&8/1992 Portrait - Milestone 9192 - 3/1991 Right turn on blue - Telarc Jazz 83366 - 1/1994 (with Jimmy McGriff) Blues groove - Telarc Jazz 83381 - 7/1995 (with Jimmy McGriff) Tight – Milestone 9259 - 4&5/1996 Road tested – Milestone 9274 - 6&7/1997 (with Jimmy McGriff) After dark - Milestone 9279 - 2/1998 Crunch time – Milestone 9287 - 11/1998 (with Jimmy McGriff) The world of Hank Crawford – Milestone 9304 - 2/2000 RIP Hank. MG Quote
mikeweil Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 Oh well - two of that great band in such proximity - have a nice jam in heaven, you soul brothers. Brother Ray is waiting. R.I.P. Quote
sheldonm Posted January 31, 2009 Report Posted January 31, 2009 I was hanging out with the guys in Deep Blue Organ Trio this afternoon (show tonight at the Jazz Kitchen) and Greg Rockingham told me Hank had passed away....what a DRAG ! Quote
Free For All Posted February 1, 2009 Report Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) Oh well - two of that great band in such proximity - have a nice jam in heaven, you soul brothers. Brother Ray is waiting. R.I.P. I sure would like to believe that that "ultimate jam" lies ahead! I was an "elitist" early on (in my youthful exhuberence) and tended to overlook players like Hank and Fathead in favor of players like Trane and JoeHen, etc. Now that wasn't a bad thing at the time, but in subsequent years (for me around 1981, when I woke up a bit) I've "widened my horizon" and have learned a lot more about what makes a player great, which is a different answer that I would have given 10/15/20/25 years ago. So I'm apparently still learning, which seems to be a good thing. I've gained a greater respect for "humanity" as well as "vocabulary", not to say that the two are in any way mutually exclusive. Teaching vocabulary is much easier than teaching how to create an identity. Some questions one just can't (or shouldn't) answer. Edited February 1, 2009 by Free For All Quote
JSngry Posted February 1, 2009 Report Posted February 1, 2009 Or are best asked and answered by one's own self alone. Quote
stevebop Posted February 1, 2009 Report Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) How sad! First Fathead and now Hank but we seem to have forgotten a third member of the Charles band who also recently passed. Leroy "Hog" Cooper. His obit from the LA Times: PASSINGS January 24, 2009 Leroy Cooper Musician in Charles band Leroy Cooper, 80, who played baritone saxophone for Ray Charles from the 1950s through the 1970s and at times served as bandleader for the R&B pianist, died of heart failure Jan. 15 at his home in Orlando, Fla., the Orlando Sentinel reported. Cooper spent two decades with the Charles band, a stretch that began in 1957. His tenure included the recording sessions that yielded the film theme "In the Heat of the Night," "Crying Time" and Charles' stirring rendition of "America, the Beautiful." Cooper also contributed to a wide array of other recordings, including blues man Lowell Fulson's classic "Reconsider Baby," and sessions with Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Kenny Neal and Lightnin' Hopkins. He also toured with the Righteous Brothers for a time. After leaving the Charles band in 1977, Cooper moved to Orlando for a job at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. He was a bandleader and performer on Main Street U.S.A. for about 20 years. The son of a bandleader, Cooper was born in Dallas on Aug. 31, 1928. He learned to play the sax as a child and also became proficient on the clarinet and flute. Edited February 1, 2009 by stevebop Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted February 1, 2009 Report Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks for that contribution on Hog Cooper, Steve. I didn't know he was on "Reconsider baby". MG Quote
John L Posted February 2, 2009 Report Posted February 2, 2009 That is a lot of soulfullness that left us recently. RIP, Hank. Quote
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