Booker Little

Booker Little, Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He appeared on a number of recordings, both as side-man and as leader. Little was closely associated with Max Roach, but also performed with John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. He was strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown, but died aged 23.

Biography

Little was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the fourth child of Booker, a Pullman porter (who was also a trombonist) and his wife, Ophelia (who played piano). Little graduated from Manassas High School. He studied trumpet at the Chicago Conservatory with Joseph Summerhill from 1956 to 1958 and it was during this time that he worked with leading local musicians such as Johnny Griffin. Later, after moving to New York, while he lived with Sonny Rollins, Little became associated with drummer Max Roach and multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, recording with them both as a sideman and a leader.

With Dolphy, he co-led a residency at the Five Spot club in New York in June 1961, from which three albums were eventually issued by Prestige Records. It was during this stint that he began to show promise of expanding the expressive range of the "vernacular" bebop idiom started by Clifford Brown, his most obvious influence as a performer. He also appeared on Dolphy's album Far Cry (New Jazz 8270), recorded December 21, 1960.

Booker Little (album)

Booker Little is an album by American jazz trumpeter Booker Little featuring performances recorded in 1960 for the Time label. The CD re-release entitled Booker Little: Complete Quartet Recordings added six bonus tracks recorded in 1958.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Trumpeter Booker Little's second session as a leader (there would only be four) is a quartet outing that puts the emphasis on relaxed tempoes. Little's immediately recognizable melancholy sound and lyrical style are heard in top form".

Track listing