I have never met a more graceful musician than Howard McCrary, who is always courteous and has a warm smile on his face. One of the most underrated traits of a musician is the ‘nice’ label, but Howard embraces that adjective profoundly. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, multi-talented McCrary traversed the worlds of both gospel and secular music, and built his reputation as a well-rounded pianist-vocalist. McCrary’s star-studded résumé includes work with Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan (who is also his sister-in-law), and Michael Jackson. Most notably, McCrary was nominated for a Best Male Gospel Performance Grammy award for the record So Good, in 1985. In 2006, he performed for the motion picture soundtrack of the Coen Brothers’ film The Ladykillers. Since 2006, he has made Hong Kong his home and is currently performing at the Four Seasons’ Blue Bar every Thursday to Saturday, 8pm-11pm. Howard’s next big gig will be Musical Moments at Star Hall, HITEC, on October 29.

You are well connected in the local music industry, most notably for your guest performance on Michael Wong’s Cool Rhythm album, and for your association with vocalist Joses Liu. Tell us about them.
Michael and I are lost brothers – music has reunited us. I first met him at [the Mandarin Oriental’s] Captain’s Bar when I saw this nice gentleman walk in and ask me if he could sit in on Moondance. It hurts me to find a man so handsome who sings that good. We became great friends. On the recording session of Cool Rhythm, I could barely talk. It was so breathtaking and I gave all my heart. It’s got a nice big band sound, even though the music and vocals were recorded separately.I met Joses Liu a year ago. She came up to me at Captain’s Bar and asked me if I gave any voice lessons. I exclaimed, “Only if I have to.” I was so touched by her spirit I had to say yes. After the lesson, she was ready to pay me but I said, “There will be no charge – just do something for world peace.” Joses is like a sister to me. Now we perform once a month at the Kee Club.

So world peace is very important to you?
There will never be world peace if you don’t have inner peace. When there are moments of peace in your heart, then world peace can be felt and it’s everywhere.

You have recorded and worked with the likes of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and blues diva Maria Maldaur. What are some of the funniest moments that occurred during those sessions?
Quincy is just one of those people who can fill the room with the most love. As he embodies love, he can get the most out of everyone. There’s also a funny story about Maria Maldaur. I wrote the song Sundown, which has a rather complicated chord progression. Producer T-Bone Burnett wanted to record that song with Maria, but he couldn’t figure it out. So he flew me down to San Francisco to explain the chord progression. We finally recorded a gospel-latin-jazz version of that tune. At the recording session, Maria couldn’t stop eating Hershey chocolates. It was so funny.

You also did some exclusive touring with guitarist-bassist Phil Upchurch, who recorded with Carmen McRae and played bass on Buddy Guy’s many classic Chess records. What is he like?
Phil is my mentor. I met him through George Benson, who is also a good friend. I toured Europe with Phil. He would always tell me, “You can’t rehearse the blues”. He also taught me how to write charts. Phil is now based in California and is married to a beautiful actress. Would you like me to get Phil here and play a blues gig featuring you on the harmonica?

That would be my pleasure. How did you react to your Grammy nomination? What does the So Good album mean to you?
I was quite shocked at first. The winner was actually a group of singers, even though it was a soloist award. In retrospect, I should have won. The album’s concept is that everything about God is so good. All God wants is to be acknowledged by his children.

Are you a religious person?
Yes, I’m Christian and I crave the presence of the Holy Spirit around me. A producer from South Africa called Caithas Semana says I have ‘big spirit’. I think I’m a spiritual person and God has me on a special mission in Hong Kong. Most people in the US think that I’m nuts to have moved to Hong Kong. Well, I’m bridging the wisdom of the East with the culture of the West, and trying to make the distance shorter. I’m currently looking to join a church in Hong Kong. I haven’t found one yet that sticks.

You told me you are working on your next CD. How’s the project coming?
It’s still in the works. It’s produced by Ted Lo, who’s a world-class arranger and has an army of awesome musicians behind him. We are working on this project together to show the rest of the world how great Hong Kong is. We recorded my composition You and I Are One. The whole album is jazz-oriented but also aims at world peace. I’m never too busy for the Lord and spreading good will.

See www.howardmccrary.com.

Henry Chung is one of HK’s leading bluesmen and harmonica players.