By Joe Mancini
Published March 2022
With deep sadness we announce the death of Lawrence Crawford, after living a life of music, discipline, and kindness for 85 years!
Larry’s family includes Ernie in Brantford, Mary in Toronto, Tom in North Dakota, Steve in Vancouver (and all of their families); dear friends Shirley Crawford Speers and Chris Entz, along with his adopted family at The Working Centre, his church community at Grace Communion International, and his endless music-making friends and co-musicians.
Larry’s parents settled and raised their family in St. Catharines after immigrating from Barbados-St. Kit’s in the 1910’s. His father was a minister in the British Methodist Church and the children were raised in a disciplined religious environment. The lessons of equality were deeply ingrained in Larry. When someone questioned whether he was a Canadian, Larry would look the person in the eye and state that he was just as much a Canadian as they were, because this is where he was born. We are all equal here.
Larry was long an active member of the Central Ontario, Stratford, and Toronto Musicians’ Associations. For 30 years it was always his intention to attend the local meetings. We would often see Larry rush out to the meeting at 7:00 and return back to the office at 10:30 and then he would settle in for a long night. In the 1970’s and 80’s, Larry worked day jobs in the printing industry, and at night he was an accomplished jazz musician with regular gigs around Kitchener, Brantford, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Toronto. He was known and respected as a talented musician and was a highly skilled Jazz trombone player. He told us stories of playing in a coffee house at the Press Club on Queen Street in the early 1960’s, in a building that he remembered to be close to 58 Queen, possibly in one of the buildings torn down to make way for Charles Street. We always knew that Larry’s jazz work was extensive and his record album from the 1970’s reinforced his accomplishments. After Larry died we heard many stories of musical collaborators who remembered playing with Larry in the 1950’s. We were incredibly lucky to have Larry put together the Centro de Trabajo, a jazz ensemble that added music and atmosphere to the annual Mayors’ Dinner for 22 years.
A commitment to service inspired Larry to become a valuable co-worker at The Working Centre in the early 1990’s after he was laid off from the printing trade. For 30 years he worked more than twenty hours per week in the resource centre assisting people with faxes, photocopies, recording and posting after-hour phone messages, organizing the public message board, assisting users of the public access computers, directing resource centre traffic, sorting newspapers, and keeping the space organized. Countless people in downtown Kitchener knew of Larry’s immensely friendly presence. In the evenings, Larry watched over the building while connecting with friends and fellow musicians. We fondly remember the way the late night crackle of the US shortwave radio programs that Larry liked to tune into filled the resource centre.
There was a time when access to public newspapers was a dear service that many appreciated. For Larry, newspapers were a valuable form for community knowledge. Where else could you find the want ads or check out what was happening in KW and world news. Larry had an expectation that by providing free newspaper access, there was a corresponding responsibility to return the newspapers to their proper place. Though often disappointed, he cared deeply about providing that access to people and was dedicated to helping ensure free access to newspapers for so many.
There has always been an eco-system at 58 Queen Street South during the evenings and late into the nights. There was constant activity – community meetings, Local Democracy classes, computer work and repair, Board meetings, accounting, employment counselling, preparations for events like Mayors’ Dinner – and the one constant over all those years was that Larry was always around on the main floor. He was always there to help people out to the parking lot. He was always there for a closing conversation to end the night.
This February, after Larry had died, walking past 58 Queen Street South late at night, it was so unusual that all the lights were off. We felt it viscerally. For 30 years, Larry had been the light, a constant light at night, a light that anchored a culture of service at 58 Queen.
On March 3, a beautiful memorial service was hosted at Walser Funeral Home with Larry’s minister Leo Van Pelt from Grace Communion International presiding and offering his blessings and memories of Larry.
Andy Macpherson brought together a jazz quartet made up of friends who had all played with Larry including Andy (drums and percussion), Doug Wicken (flute), Dan Brennan (bass), and Paul Stouffer (piano/keyboard). They played tribute and added to our memories of Larry, sending him off by playing beautiful reflective jazz.
Many stories were shared, especially about all the people who connected to Larry through his work at The Working Centre’s front desk. Larry’s brother Ernie, Ramsey Simmons, Peter Moberly, Rebecca Mancini, Stephanie and myself all gave tributes, as did Doug, Andy, and Stan from the quartet.
The highlight was another jazz friend, Stan Grizzle, who also met Larry when he came into The Working Centre to get a photocopy. A friendship developed and Larry, well into his 80’s, contributed to Stan’s recent album. Stan sang his renditions of What a Wonderful World and Amazing Grace, perfectly using song to reflect the indelible mark Larry left on our community. He will be deeply missed.
Larry was always a spirited and enthusiastic performer on the bandstand – with a special gift and passion for Jazz standards. His tempos were often challenging for fellow musicians to keep up with. Larry enjoyed keeping people on the edge of their seats.
– Dan Brennan
I met Larry 35 years ago in London on a gig when I was still a Humber Music Student. We hit it off musically and personally right away. I have been lucky to make music with Larry for all these years. He was one of the warmest and most generous people I have ever met, and he always had a great music story from yesteryear to share. Rest well old friend.
– Joe Amato
Growing up in the Waterloo Region under the tutelage of Gary Tomlin, I was exposed to some of the jazz giants whose shoulders I now stand on. The Fritz-Patrick Trio with masters Fred Bagley, Pat Ludwig and of course Gary Tomlin were the “real deal”. Later, I would begin my association with The Working Centre and St. John’s Kitchen through my mother Arleen. It is now 30 years since Arleen introduced me to Larry Crawford at The Working Centre. I soon learned that Larry was one of those local jazz giants to whom the local jazz community owes a great deal of gratitude.
I had the opportunity to play with Larry several times; the most memorable were spontaneous concerts at the Queen Street Commons Cafe when Larry would drop in after work “from across the street” with his trombone and a band set of photocopied lead sheets of standards that he would suggest we play. My favourite of these, which my group plays regularly still today, is “Beautiful Love”. I can’t play this song without thinking of Larry. It is a traditional standard swing tune. By “standard”, I mean that practically every jazz player knows this tune. Larry proposed that we play this tune as an upbeat samba, breaking the mould, and ultimately endearing him and his music style to me. That was Larry: “the real deal”, steeped in the tradition, and bringing his own style and interpretation to every performance.
Larry was a respectful musician and human being: he respected the traditions, the music, the people, the audience, the profession, and all the players sharing the stage with him. Larry was the real deal, a local jazz legend. Rest in peace Larry.
– Andy Macpherson
