The local label that is home to Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Jon Cleary, the Rebirth Brass Band, Theresa Andersson, Jason Marsalis, Jeremy Davenport, Dr. Michael White and Henry Butler recently announced their latest signee.
Crawford has been a piano and singing sensation since he was a pre-teen. His roots are in gospel music, he was a long time choir director before relocating after Hurricane Katrina, but is adept at virtually every style of music associated with New Orleans.
Despite his standing as one of the greatest performers of his generation, Crawford is woefully under recorded. Of his handful of albums, my favorite is The B-3 and Me, which features him on the organ with Clarence Johnson III on saxophone and Shannon Powell on drums. Despite his fame in his hometown and a rising profile in New York, Crawford doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry.
All of that should change with his association with Basin Street Records. The label has a track record that extends back fourteen years. They are a hands-on operation that takes care of their artists. Crawford’s first release for the label will be in March of 2012.
