The Japanese honor their most distinguished, and usually aged, artists with the title “Living National Treasure.” Bassist Bill Crow well deserves such a designation, and for far more than his age. While people often carry their years like a badly worn garment, his fit him like the finest garb from Brooks Brothers. He still drives, lugs his bass and amp to his gigs, and has an impressive memory which fan and fellow bassist Harvie S described as “100% there, and he tells amazing stories in great detail. And he was there at the best time.”
Crow is a bassist who has worked with such major artists as Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Marian McPartland, Terry Gibbs, and so many more. He seems to enjoy talking about the artists he knew and performed with, almost as much as he enjoyed playing with them, and his personality is such that he seems unimpressed by his own significance in all of it.
He was from the Seattle area, where he knew Ray Charles and Quincy Jones but came to the Big Apple in 1950 and put down roots that have endured. His mother started him in music very early, growing up; he played a number of instruments before he settled on the bass.
He spent one season touring in Claude Thornhill’s band, so I asked him about that leader whose personality seemed as distinctive as his music. The bassist told me that “He liked bizarre people, and his attitude was, ‘You can’t out
