File:Davell Crawford - Piano Prince of New Orleans.jpg

AltText: On stage, Davell ushers his hand towards the crowd while seated playing the piano. He wears jeans, and a sleeveless denim jacket. Further back on the stage, Severan is playing bass guitar.

Description: Davell Crawford grew up in both New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana, where the sounds of zydeco and country music formed the soundtrack for his childhood. Though cowboy boots remain one of his favorite sartorial statements, his name has become synonymous with the New Orleans piano tradition, and he has earned a leading place in the legendary line of piano professors from the Crescent City. His prodigious talents also include directing the Grammy-nominated gospel sounds of the Davell Crawford Singers, performing with some of the leading lights in American roots music, and heading his own jazz and Hammond B-3 organ trios. But he’s best known as the “Piano Prince of New Orleans,” and while that title may nod to his musical inheritance, his position as musical royalty is one he has earned many times over through his uniquely powerful interpretation of this signature American style. At the Lowell Folk Festival (2012), Davell was joined by Chris Severan on bass and Joe Dyson Jr. on drums.