A fine veteran tenor saxophonist who was long 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. After that, an earlier album (1991) from the cool-toned tenor was released on Progressive. ~ Scott Yanow