Born June 29, 1981, in Memphis, TN, Anthony Crawford was raised in a family of talented musicians. His father, funk and rock drummer, Hubert (H bomb) Crawford, has played with notable greats like James Brown, Mother's Finest, Mark Farner of the Grandfunk Railroad, The Bar-Kays, and then the original drummer for the Eric Gales Band, while his uncle is the legendary jazz saxophonist, Hank Crawford. With such strong musical influences in his life, Anthony began playing the drums at the tender age of 2. At about 6 years old, he began to attend his father’s performances. It was at this time that Anthony started to visualize and dream of being on stage and playing the drums like his father. Soon after, this young gifted musician entered and won several school talent contests. It was not until Anthony reached his 12th birthday that he finally picked up the bass for the very first time. He knew, just at that moment that he was meant to be a bass player. He walked away from the drums, never looked back, and began practicing the bass night and day. When Anthony was 14, he began playing with his father and has set in with the Bette Midler Band. As a freshman in high school, he then met Derrick Dean, keyboardist, and Trevor Taylor, drummer. The trio soon became good friends and decided to form a band. Together they performed at church and for a variety of Memphis community choirs. Through these experiences, Anthony was introduced to many forms of jazz and musical genres. The concept behind, "Urban Jazz," is to approach solo jazz bass playing with a pop-ish urban feel and at the same time, bring fresh original music that everyone can enjoy. Stanley Clarke once told me to find what makes me unique and write songs based upon that quality, so I took what Stanley Clarke said and I came up with the, "Urban Jazz," title, which is a "bass jazz album from an urban point of view." Songs like, “Windy Days," and “A Melody For You,” are smooth songs that features soothing melodies and songs like, “Play For Me," and “Don’t Stop The Music,” are more urban-dance songs which features hot grooves that makes the listener want to dance. What sets me apart from other jazz artists is that my sound is a fresh new approach to the world of bass and jazz. My influences are Wayman Tisdale, Marcus Miller, Kenny G, Timberland, Rhianna and Victor Wooten. Independent Label: Hydro 6 Records/Distribution deal with 141 Entertainment’s Sonic Flux Music Endorsement with: Roscoe (Bass Guitars) & Ibanez (Amps and Bass Guitars) Manager: April Simmons Simmons Management & Productions AYSimmons@simmonsmgmtnprod.com http://www.simmonsmgmtnprod.com Instrumentation Anthony Crawford - Lead Bass Ron Allen, Jr. - Drums Nate Holleman - Bass Urie Norris - Keys Mark Rodriguez - Guitar Donald Hayes - Sax Akua Willis - Vocals Discography Re-releasing debut solo album titled, "Urban Jazz," digitally worldwide, (11/10) Released debut solo album titled, “Urban Jazz,” digitally worldwide, (12/09) Bass Guitarist, for the Movie/Broadway Musical, "Momma I Want To Sing," ('09) Bass Guitarist, "Miss HIV," Documentary filmed in South Africa, ('07) Bass Guitarist, Glenn Jones Tour, ('07-'08) Bass Guitarist, Phil Perry Tour, ('07-'08) Bass Guitarist, Justin Timberlake, Benefit Concert for Hurricane Katrina, ('07) Bass Guitarist, Kirk Whalum Tour, ('06-'07) Bass Guitarist, Howard Hewett, Live & Intimate DVD, ('05) Bass Guitarist, Shalamar - Concert in Japan, ('05) Bass Guitarist, Howard Hewett Tour, ('04-'07) Bass Guitarist, Good Morning America/Ruby Wilson, ('03) Bass Guitarist, National Democratic Convention with Bill Clinton, ('00)