Davell Crawford is Basin Street Records‘ newest signed recording artist, making the acclaimed pianist and singer number twelve on the 14-year-old label’s marquee list of artists.

Davell Crawford. Photo by Stephen C. Evans.

From his fast fingers to his soulful voice, Crawford is a master of the New Orleans R&B and gospel. As the grandson of local legend James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, responsible for the song “Jock-A-Mo,” Davell has been bred to keep the New Orleans music tradition alive and prosperous. He has toured internationally and embraces his roots on stage, melding jazz, gospel, soul, funk, and R&B into his explosive performances.

“Over the years he has performed or recorded in so many different ways. He just brings so many different styles of music to the table,” says Mark Samuels, President of Basin Street Records.

Crawford’s debut Basin Street release, scheduled for March 2012, will be his first album since 1999. Fans can expect “a record that is Davell, and it’s going to be New Orleans R&B at its finest,” Samuels says.

Samuels, who has been a fan of Crawford’s since 1989, says the artist has been on his radar for quite some time, but “Like almost every signing we do, it’s about two people being in the right place at the right time in the right frame of mind. I had recently run into Davell on a few occasions and he came up to me and said, ‘You know Mark, I think maybe it’s a good time for us to talk,’ so we just started talking.”

Crawford will join Kermit Ruffins, Rebirth Brass Band, and Jeremy Davenport among others in the label’s talented crew of New Orleans musicians.

“He joins a small list of great New Orleans music that represents just about everything fine about our city,” says Samuels.