Ray Holland Crawford (February 7, 1924, Pittsburgh, PA - December 30, 1997, Pittsburgh, PA) was an American jazz guitarist.
He began his professional career as a tenor saxophonist and clarinetist in the big band of Fletcher Henderson (1941-1943), but had to give up this for health reasons. He adopted the guitar in the 1950s and was part of the Ahmad Jamal Trio (1951-1956). He played with many groups in New Yorks. He collaborated with Gil Evans on a couple of records. In the late 1950s he formed a stable association with organist Jimmy Smith, which continued well into the 1980s.
His style is distinguished from other guitarists for his lyricism and colorism, and above all, having inherited this from his time as saxophonist his phrasing is typically founded on respiration.
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