The Soul Clinic (High Definition Remaster 2023) Hank Crawford

• 1 Please Send Me Someone To Love (Remastered 2023) 03:28
• 2 Easy Living (Remastered 2023) 05:26
• 3 Playmates (Remastered 2023) 04:20
• 4 What A Difference A Day Made (Remastered 2023) 05:29
• 5 Me And My Baby (Remastered 2023) 04:19
• 6 Lorelei's Lament (Remastered 2023) 05:35
• 7 Blue Stone (Remastered 2023) 06:03
• Total Runtime 34:40

Info for The Soul Clinic (High Definition Remaster 2023)

Hank Crawford was member of Ray Charles's band from 1958-1963. Frequent collaborators in Ray Charles albums were David "Fathead" Newman and Dr. John. He played with Phineas Newborn Jr., Booker Little, George Coleman and others.

The repertoire is evenly divided between merrily bouncing swingers like the Crawford original Playmates and Horace Silver’s Me And My Baby, gorgeous ballads like Robin/Grainger’s Easy Living and the popular tune What A Difference A Day Makes, which was a hit for Dinah Washington in 1959. The latter is a vehicle for trumpeter Philip Gilbeau. As if Hank isn’t enough to drive you wild, the angels of swing sent down brother Phil Gilbeau. Brash, jubilant, linking Satchmo to crisp modern jazz, Gilbeau’s tale reveals the feelings of a man who loves his woman, which nevertheless left him stranded at a roadside diner after a heated argument. You see him standing outside at the parking lot, one heel on the springboard of his 1958 Packard, swinging a fist, a sudden act of mad laughter that can hardly conceal the yearning, the tenderness, the joy of life. This couple is bound to make up, will be back soon in a barbecue joint, ribs and fries, chili in a bowl, hashbrowns over easy, the whole shebang except candlelight… You hear him think, ‘might be steppin’ into that phonebooth, be callin’ Hank in a minute, just to say I keep-a-rollin’ with my baby…’ Hank understands. The band understands. The guys all sing that song. Not only seperately, but also as the entity that made those albums like The Soul Clinic beautiful, essential, deep blue as the ocean.

Hank Crawford, alto saxophone, piano
Phillip Guilbeau, trumpet (trumpet solo on "What A Difference A Day Makes")
John Hunt, trumpet
David Newman, tenor saxophone
Leroy Cooper, baritone saxophone
Edgar Willis, bass
Bruno Carr, drums
Milt Turner, drums

Digitally remastered

Hank Crawford
With an unmistakable blues wail, full of emotion and poignancy, altoist Hank Crawford bridges the gap between that tradition and that of jazz more completely than any other living horn player.

Born in Memphis, TN, (December 21, 1934) Crawford was steeped in the blues tradition from an early age. He began playing piano but switched to alto when his father brought one home from the army. He claims his early influences as Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges. Crawford hung out with Phineas Newborn Jr., Booker Little, and George Coleman in high school. Upon graduating, Crawford played in bands fronted by Ike Turner, B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Bobby "Blue" Bland at Memphis' Palace Theater and Club Paradise.

In 1958 Crawford went to college in Nashville where he met Ray Charles. Charles hired Crawford originally as a baritone saxophonist. Crawford switched to alto in 1959 and remained with Charles' band -- becoming its musical director -- until 1963. The phrasing and voicings he learned there proved invaluable to him as the hallmark of his own sound. He also wrote and arranged a tune for Charles. The cut, "Sherry," his first for the band, was put on the Live at Newport album.

Crawford cut a slew solo albums for Atlantic while with the band, and when he formed his group, he remained with the label until 1970. He signed with Creed Taylor's Kudu in 1971 and cut a series of fusion-y groove jazz dates through 1982. In 1983 he moved to Milestone and returned to form as a premier arranger, soloist, and composer, writing for small bands -- that included guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist Jimmy McGriff, and Dr. John -- as well as large. Crawford has been constantly active since then, as a leader and sideman, recording the best music of his long career.

Crawford passed away in his native town, on January 29, 2009. (Thom Jurek, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.