Episode 3: The Blues Sax, Hank Crawford & David Sanborn (Details)
My favorite saxophonist of all time is Charlie Parker, but both Hank Crawford and David Sanborn are very high up on my list. I was blessed to see David Sanborn in concert about 35 times: the first time was at the Chicago Theatre in about 1990. What an incredible player. When you read the full story of what Sanborn went through as a child, it becomes obvious why he played with so much soul and passion. As a toddler, he was in an iron lung for a year due to childhood polio. He was teased and bullied as a child due to his physical disabilities. As an adult, he became a strong advocate for people with disabilities. His suffering truly came out in his beautiful playing.
As an adult in the late 1990s, I saw Hank Crawford live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. It all made sense. Hank Crawford was David Sanborn's favorite saxophonist, and they both had a soulful "cry" to their sound. I only saw Hank Crawford once, but he had the best live sound of any saxophonist I've ever seen, and that includes David Sanborn. Crawford could really make the saxophone sing.
This podcast episode was one of the easiest projects I've ever done because I've been studying these two gentlemen for decades. During the COVID pandemic, David Sanborn ran Zoom masterclasses: I attended two of them. He was everything that I imagined he would be: humble, courteous, kind, curious, and he treated EVERYONE on the Zoom session with such kindness and respect. He was an amazing individual, and he was truly an inspiration.
Though I never met Hank Crawford, the videos of References 1-4 below give me a very good idea of what kind of person he was. I'm sure that he was an extremely tough individual because he came up in a time when the music business was not easy. Not only was it extremely competitive, but it was also full of people of low moral and ethical standards who would try to use musicians. What is amazing to me about Hank Crawford is that he had to develop such a high level of toughness, yet his playing is so full of beauty. That is the genius of great musicianship: you have to become a master of both hiding your emotions AND fully expressing your emotions, and you have to be able to switch between the two extremes on a moment's notice.
For your convenience, I've embedded the Episode 3 video here. I'll see you in the next episode!
References:
- Henry CB. (2010, January 22). HANK CRAWFORD-PART-1-'HOW HE BECAME A SAXOPHONO ARTIST' [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmrWgsRuCE
- Henry CB. (2010, January 22). HANK CRAWFORD-PART-2-'HIS DAYS AT TENN.STATE UNIV. AND WITH RAY CHARLES' [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZWRXW5OOMo
- Henry CB. (2010, January 22). HANK CRAWFORD-PART-3-'HIS MUSIC OF THE 60'S, 70'S AND 80'S' [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiyHF7Bp5P0
- Henry CB. (2010, January 22). HANK CRAWFORD-PART-4-'HIS MUSICAL FAMILY' [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9QPqdTnuKo
- bobby4000. (2006, October 29). More Hank Crawford on Nightmusic [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1TR4R1Mmso
- コバ“右爺”タク. (2020, January 10). HANK CRAWFORD/ The Peeper-Don't Cry, Baby &. on "NIGHT MUSIC" #41 with DAVID SANBORN [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJoY16annws
- Jazz St. Louis. (2023, September 12). Whitaker Jazz Speaks: David Sanborn - Growing Up In Gaslight Square - Live from Jazz St. Louis [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J42taarhTbk