Dick Hafer, a fine veteran tenor-saxophonist, was often overlooked and under-featured. His 1994 Fresh Sound album Prez Impressions (a tribute of Lester Young) made an impression. When he was seven years old, he started playing clarinet and switched to tenor high school. Hafer was first employed by Charlie Barnet’s 1949 bebop orchestra. He also recorded some solos that day. Next, he was with Claude Thornhill (1949-1950), then he was back with Barnet (1951-1955). He then joined Woody Herman (1951-1955), where he was a soloist on “Wild Apple Honey”. Hafer was a freelancer in New York. He played with Bobby Hackett (1957-1958), Tex Beneke (1955), and Elliott Lawrence (1958-1960), as well as with Charles Mingus (1963-1963), and Johnny Hartman (1962). In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles and continued his steady work until the Fresh Sound session. Progressive released a 1991 album by the cool-toned tenor. Allmusic
