[1] Crawford was born in Atmore, Alabama, to parents who were a Baptist minister and a music teacher.

[2] Crawford graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, USA, where he studied trombone in a classical style.

[1] Crawford initially took up residence in the French Quarter of New Orleans where he became acquainted with people in the local arts and music scene.

As these laws were struck down in the 1960s, opportunities opened up for Crawford to perform with various notable jazz musicians in New Orleans who were of African-American ethnicity.

As a member of this group and others, he helped make the soundtrack for the movies "Pretty Baby" and "Live and Let Die", as well as many other recording sessions.

[1] With various bands, Crawford performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival a significant number of times, occasionally with several acts in the course of a single day.

[7] In this role, Crawford resurrected many forgotten pieces of jazz music and developed arrangements of them.

He acquired a significant collection of jazz recordings, including of artists that he personally knew or performed with.