Need to Know: Jazz Artist Davell Crawford

Photo of Davell Crawford by Dino Perucci

There's no denying that Davell Crawford is talented. The grandson of the great vocalist/pianist James "Sugar Boy" Crawford of "Jack-A-Mo" fame and the godson of Roberta Flack, Davell has been playing a heady blend of Americana--blues, jazz, R&B, soul, funk--music since he was 7. Now he's back with his first album in 14 years, My Gift to You, and it's a lively tribute to New Orleans (you can stream it at Paste).

We have an exclusive video of a "Bloody Sunday Session" of Crawford performing "River / White Socks & Drawers" (the album version features Big Freedia) as he and a band of friends take a horse-drawn carriage through the French Quarter of New Orleans. If you like this, you'll want to see Crawford (he's been known to throw down) perform live, and he has a CD release party in New York City at Joe's Pub Saturday, June 29.

Check out the video below: