Dick Hafer

Dick Hafer

A fine veteran tenor saxophonist who has long been overlooked and under-featured, Dick Hafer made a strong impression with his 1994 Fresh Sound release Prez Impressions (a tribute to Lester Young). He started on clarinet when he was seven, switching to tenor in high school. Hafer's first major job was with Charlie Barnet's bebop orchestra of 1949 (being featured on some recorded solos the same day he joined the band). He next was with Claude Thornhill (1949-1950), was briefly back with Barnet, and then joined Woody Herman (1951-1955), soloing most notably on "Wild Apple Honey." Hafer freelanced in New York; played with Tex Beneke (1955), Bobby Hackett (1957-1958), Elliott Lawrence (1958-1960), and Benny Goodman (1962); and recorded with Charles Mingus (1963) and Johnny Hartman. He moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and worked steadily, but was fairly obscure until the Fresh Sound session. Since then, an earlier album (1991) from the cool-toned tenor has been released on Progressive. Scott Yanow