Crawford, Ray (Holland)
Crawford, Ray (Holland)
Crawford, Ray (Holland) , bebop-flavored jazz guitarist; b. Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 7, 1924. He was a clarinet and saxophonist who played with Fletcher Henderson’s orch. in the early 1940s, but then contracted tuberculosis, which forced him to switch to guitar. He became a good player in bop style and attained popularity as part of Ahmad Jamal’s influential 1950s combos. Crawford stayed with Jamal until 1956, then played with Jimmy Smith and Gil Evans in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After recording and working with Tony Scott, Crawford moved from N.Y. to Los Angeles in 1961, heading a sextet that also included Johnny Coles and Cecil Payne. He recorded with this band, and later performed with Sonny Stitt and Sonny Criss. Crawford worked extensively in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with Jimmy Smith. In 1983 he began playing tenor sax again on occasion, although he primarily worked on guitar. Since 1990 he has lived in Pasadena, Calif., where he teaches privately and continues to record, perform, and compose.
Discography
Smooth Groove (1961).
—Lewis Porter