The John Crawford Jazz Band
Tel: 262-694-8762
See us LIVE on Tuesday June 13th from 7-9 pm
@ Kenosha's Kemper Center Twilight Jazz 2023 season.
@ Kenosha's Kemper Center Twilight Jazz 2023 season.
Welcome
Our Band / 2019
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John and Susan Crawford began performing music together over 35 years ago, while they were in college. John plays piano, and Susan is the vocalist; singing standard jazz tunes many people will recognize. In addition to piano and vocals, the group includes Ken Fabis on saxophone, Mike Gudbaur on bass and Randy Maio on drums. They play with many other musicians in their group including Pat Crawford (sax/flute), Ken (trombone) and Jake (trumpet) Wiele, Paul Griffen (drums), Shane Mooney (drums), Frank Tarantino (bass) and many others that "sub" into the group.
The band plays primarily in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, at restaurants and jazz clubs, as well as events such as wedding receptions, parties, and fund raisers. Their second CD titled “It’s About Time”, was nominated in 2007 for a WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award. For the past five years, The John Crawford Jazz Band has performed as the one of the bands for The Kenosha Kemper Center's outdoor Twilight Jazz Series, which takes place throughout the summer months. For the 2023 season, the band will perform at the Kemper grounds on Tuesday June 13th from 7-9 pm for an outdoor concert. They can be seen locally at Sazzy B's regularly. John plays every Monday at Sazzy B's with a diverse collection of jazz musicians from 6-9pm. Sue is sometimes asked to be the guest vocalist with other jazz groups. |
Your beautiful jazz music helped make our event extra special. Your talents are so entertaining and impressive, and seeing you perform is an inspiration!.” |
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John Crawford
John began playing the piano as a child with lessons from Dorothy Piche and over the years it has become his favorite hobby. One of John's earliest memories is of playing the Scott Joplin song, "The Entertainer" at a resort while on a family vacation. He received his first "tip" from a lady who was listening, and was hooked! As an adult, John has studied at The Milwaukee Conservatory of Music with Tony King, David Hazeltine and Mark Davis. In addition to playing the piano with The Crawford Jazz Band, John performs several times a month with the John Bunic Big Band and Jazz Wave. By day, John is a busy orthodontist in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He credit's his father "Montana Bob", with setting the example of what a good husband and father should be. Susan Crawford Prior to meeting John, Susan performed in musical theater and worked in radio and television commercials. She began singing in John's wedding band in 1979, as a "temporary vocalist", until he could find a replacement for the singer who abandoned the group unexpectedly. The arragement worked-out pretty well, and while John was a dental student at Marquette University and Sue was attending UW-Milwaukee, they made extra money by performing for wedding receptions on weekends. In 1981 they married, had three children, and over the years have continued to share the joy of performing together. |
