Davell Crawford Will Perform at the 13th Annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival

Davell Crawford and his quartet will return to the TD James Moody Jazz Festival to perform “Davell Crawford: a Musical Journey from New Orleans to Newark at Newark Symphony Hall, 1020 Broad Street on November 16, 2024, at 1:00 pm. 

Crawford, who performed with Gladys Knight at the festival last year, unveils his Crescent City pianism – a great gumbo of gospel, jazz, blues, R&B and Caribbean influences – and musically narrates a scintillating and syncopated tale of two cities, featuring the music of New Orleans' Louis Armstrong, Professor Longhair, Jon Batiste, and Newark's James Moody, Sarah Vaughan and Whitney Houston.

Also known as the “Piano Prince of New Orleans,” Crawford was born in 1975 with The Big Easy in his blood. “I tell people that my mom had triplets,” Crawford told WBGO's Sheila Anderson on the Salon Sessions podcast. “She had me, a little grand piano and a microphone.” He alternately grew up in New Orleans, Lafayette and Western Louisiana. His godmother is the legendary soul diva Roberta Flack, and he is the grandson of R&B pianist James “Sugar Boy” Crawford. His primary influences were Patsy Cline and Sarah Vaughan, along with the great New Orleans pianists Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, and James Booker. Crawford started playing piano at the age of 7, played the organ at St. Joseph Baptist Church, where he was the choir director at the age of 11, and toured Europe as a teenager. He attended the famed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), where the Marsalis brothers, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and Trombone Shorty also matriculated, and was mentored by vibes master, Lionel Hampton.

Crawford has worked with Nicholas Payton, Kermit Ruffins, Delfeayo Marsalis, Irma Thomas, Dr. John and many other musicians. Crawford's albums as a leader include, Let Them Talk, The B-3 and Me, Love Like Yours and Mine, My Gift to You, Abide with Me: Hymns, Piano in the Vaults, Vol. 1, Spirituals and Solos and his 2024 releases, Alone Together: The Music of Roberta Flack for Solo Piano and Gentle Soul: The Music of Aretha Franklin for Solo Piano.

Hailed by Blues Access magazine as “…one of the most talented musicians alive,” Crawford is an all-encompassing artist, who understands that innovation comes from a deep knowledge of tradition. “I have a responsibility to preserve the music,” Crawford tells Steinway & Sons, “to carry it forth and to breathe new life into the music, when it's appropriate to do that.”

 

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