“I found out as a young musician in Memphis that if you weren’t reaching people, and having them pat their foot, then there was nothing happening,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “So I’ve always played for the average listener, rather than the jazz die-hard.”

Hank Crawford had a soulful sound on the alto sax.  Born Dec. 21, 1934, he hailed  from Memphis and had played with Ray Charles and Jimmy McGriff.

He told jazz writer Cam Miller, “When I pick up my horn, I’m never far away from voices in the church choir I grew up with.”

Hank Crawford passed away January 29.