Family Tree
The roots and branches of Red Tail Hawk: the music of Ben Zanfagna's father, Doc Zig, and the music Ben has made with him and on his own.
Doc Zig & Benny Z
A father-and-son duo from Newburyport: Jim "Doc Zig" Zanfagna and Ben "Benny Z" Zanfagna. Doc Zig came up playing rock and roll and R&B in the 1950s and '60s with The Revelites, and brought acoustic blues and stringed instruments to the duo. Benny Z brought saxophone, guitar and piano, plus a love of reggae and jazz.
Their debut EP, Father & Son Playing for Small Change (2010), carried early versions of "Run Run" and "Cherry Hill," songs that grew into Red Tail Hawk favorites. The album Propaganda followed in 2022. The pair named their publishing company Making Music Medicine Productions, the same name behind Red Tail Hawk today.
"It's Americana realized through a filter of reggae and jazz." (Newburyport Arts, 2010)
Rest in peace. Rest in power, Doc Zig. You are loved, and we feel your love eternal.
Doc Zig and Benny Z Playing for Small Change on the boardwalk in Newburyport
Doc Zig & Charles Archer
Charlie Archer and Doc Zig at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH, circa 1990s.
To Ben, he was "Uncle Charlie": a genius on the guitar, a country blues master and historian, Doc Zig's best friend and long-time music partner, and one of the biggest influences on Ben's early life. Charlie lived a spare, private life on Plum Island with no running water. He would come by the Zanfagna house to fill his water jugs, often stay for dinner, and join the family for holidays.
For decades Charlie was a fixture of the North Shore and Seacoast blues and folk scene, including sets with Doc Zig at The Press Room in Portsmouth. A 1979 Boston Phoenix listing has him singing and picking at St. Andrew's Church in Marblehead, and Newburyport bluesman Paul Prue still thanks him by name, alongside TJ Wheeler and Bruce Pingree.
Doc Zig and Charles Archer's album Selections From 'Live In the Moment' (2010) includes their take on Steve James's "Talco Girl" and "Money Is King."
Listen on Spotify → Bandcamp →
Benjamin Kray
Benjamin Kray Sketches album cover
Benjamin Kray is Ben Zanfagna's solo project, including the album Sketches (2018) and the single Drafting (2019).
Listen on Spotify → Apple Music →
Red Tail Hawk
Red Tail Hawk logo and trademark
In 2011, Ben and childhood friends formed Red Tail Hawk. Meet the band → Hear the music →