Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
trumpeter and composer. He appeared on many recordings in his short career, both as a sideman and as a leader. Little performed with
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
, and
Eric Dolphy and was strongly influenced by
Sonny Rollins
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.
In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
and
Clifford Brown. He died aged 23.
Early life
Booker Little Jr. was born in
Memphis,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
to Booker, a Pullman porter who was a trombonist, and his wife Ophelia Little, who was a church organist. He also was the brother of Helena, Vivian, and
Vera Little (Vera later sung with the London Opera Company).
From such a musically inclined family, Little naturally gravitated towards music at a young age. His first instrument was trombone (like his father), but he switched to clarinet at the age of 12.
At 14, his band director urged him to switch to trumpet, and he settled on the instrument quickly.
In 1952, Little started attending Manassas High School where he continued his development on trumpet and later graduated.
Being in Memphis, Little was able to further develop his talent with contemporaries such as
Phineas Newborn Jr.,
George Coleman,
Frank Strozier, and his cousin
Louis Smith.
He was performing with Newborn on a casual basis by his mid-teens.
After graduating, he moved to
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
to continue his studies at the
Chicago Conservatory in 1954.
At the conservatory, he continued to study trumpet but also incorporated studies in composition, theory, and orchestration with a minor in piano.
He would later on graduate with a bachelor's degree in his main instrument.
As a sophomore, Little met
Sonny Rollins
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.
In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
. For about nine months, they both stayed at the YMCA where Rollins would influence Little greatly by encouraging him to find his own sound versus mimicking other musicians.
Career
1958-1959: First recordings with Max Roach + 4
While attending a recording session with Rollins, Little met drummer
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
in 1955.
Following the death of
Clifford Brown the next year, Little became Roach's trumpet player in his band Max Roach Four. Being in school interfered with the quality of his performance, and he was replaced by
Kenny Dorham. Following graduation, Little rejoined Roach's band, reclaiming his spot from Dorham in 1958.
In that band, he reunited with one of his friends from Memphis,
George Coleman. As trumpeter, Little made his recording debut on ''
Max Roach + 4 on the Chicago Scene'' in June. He was featured on pieces like "
My Old Flame".
Little recorded two more albums with the group, which Roach altered by replacing the piano with tuba player
Ray Draper. On ''Max Roach + 4 at Newport,'' Little introduced his first composition, "Minor Mode", and on "
A Night in Tunisia" he was the main soloist. On their album, ''
Deeds, Not Words'',
in the opening piece, "
You Stepped Out of a Dream", Little displayed his arranging skills, where the tenor sax, trumpet and tuba share similar voicings that created tension and sophisticated musicality within the unusual piano-less group. Little had a hand in the majority of the arranging on the ''Deeds, Not Words'' album.
In October, the group appeared on
ABC's ''
Stars of Jazz'' television program. Also during October, Little recorded his first album as a leader, ''
Booker Little 4 and Max Roach'' (also known as ''The Defiant Ones'') with Roach on drums, Coleman on tenor, and Davis on bass (with
Tommy Flanagan on piano).
On ''The Defiant Ones,'' Little played three of his original pieces, "Rounders Mode", "Dungeons Waltz", and "Jewels Tempo".
Following his first album as leader, Little and ''Max Roach + 4'' recorded one more album before the end of 1958 titled ''
Award-Winning Drummer'' under Roach's name and another titled ''Many Sides of Max Roach'' in 1959 (the second album was not released until 1964).
''Many Sides of Max Roach'' was the last album Booker Little recorded with Roach's group until 1960.
1959-1960: Freelancing
During his leave, Little freelanced around New York developing new acquaintances with musicians such as
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
,
Slide Hampton, and
Teddy Charles.
He was present on two of the four tracks of a reunion album with his old friends Coleman, Strozier, Smith, Phineas Newborn Jr., Calvin Newborn, George Joyner, and Charles Crosby titled ''Down Home Reunion'', credited as by Young Men From Memphis, where the group displayed their interests in blues music.
Through the course of the end of 1959 and early 1960, Little featured and worked on albums such as ''Slide!'', ''Bill Henderson Sings,'' and the last album he recorded before returning to Roach's group, ''
Fantastic Frank Strozier''.
In addition, he also recorded his second album as a lead simply titled ''
Booker Little'' for
Bob Shad's Time label where he introduced his original compositions such as '"Opening Statement", "Minor Sweet", "Bee Tee's minor Plea", "Life's a Little Blue" and "The Grand Valse".
1960-1961: Eric Dolphy and final recordings
In 1960, Little rejoined Roach's band and recorded 14 albums from April 1960 to September 1961.
Following his return, Little took on a bigger role being music director and composing more music for the group.
The first album Roach recorded with Little as trumpeter was ''
We Insist! - Freedom Now Suite''.
Little continued to work with Roach but soon met
Eric Dolphy. The combination of Little and Dolphy presented the possibility of the dawning of a new sound of music.
At the beginning of their newfound association, Dolphy recorded ''
Far Cry'' with Little on trumpet.
In addition, Little also recorded his third album as lead ''
Out Front''.
This album ''Out Front'' was a result of his work on ''We Insist!'' Following the recording of ''We Insist'', Little was hired by
Nat Hentoff to write for
Candid Records.
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 the
Prestige label titled ''Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Volumes 1&2'' and the ''Memorial Album''.
It was during this period that he began to show promise of expanding the expressive range of the "vernacular" bebop idiom which originated with
Clifford Brown, his most immediate influence as a performer.
Booker Little recorded his final album with Roach in August 1961 titled ''
Percussion Bitter Sweet'' with Dolphy on sax and recorded his last and final album as leader entitled ''
Booker Little and Friend'' (also known as ''Victory and Sorrow'').
After years of physical pain, Little died of complications resulting from
uremia on October 5, 1961, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the age 23. He was survived by his wife, two sons Booker T. III and Larry Cornelius, and two daughters Cornelia and Ana Dorsey.
Discography
As leader
* ''
Booker Little 4 and Max Roach'' (
United Artists, 1958
959
* ''
Booker Little'' (Time, 1960)
* ''
Out Front'' (
Candid, 1961)
* ''
Booker Little and Friend'' (
Bethlehem, 1961); re-issued as ''Victory and Sorrow'' (Betlehem, 1977)
As sideman
With
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
* ''
Africa/Brass'' (
Impulse!, 1961)
* ''
The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2'' (Impulse!, 1961
974
* ''
The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. 4: Trane's Modes'' (Impulse!, 1961
979; Little performs on two tracks
With
Eric Dolphy
* ''
Far Cry'' (
Prestige, 1960
962
* ''
Dash One'' (Prestige, 1960–61
982; Little performs on two tracks
* ''
Here and There'' (Prestige, 1960–61
966; Little performs on one track
* ''
At the Five Spot, Volume 1'' (Prestige, 1961)
* ''
At the Five Spot, Volume 2'' (Prestige, 1961
963
* ''
Memorial Album Recorded Live at the Five Spot'' (Prestige, 1961
965
With
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
* ''
Max Roach + 4 on the Chicago Scene'' (
EmArcy, 1958)
* ''
Max Roach + 4 at Newport'' (EmArcy, 1958)
* ''
Deeds, Not Words'' (
Riverside, 1958)
* ''
Award-Winning Drummer'' (Time, 1958
960
* ''
The Many Sides of Max'' (
Mercury, 1959
964
* ''
We Insist!'' (Candid, 1960)
* ''
Percussion Bitter Sweet'' (Impulse!, 1961)
* ''
Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years'' (
Verve, 1954–60
995; Little performs on three tracks recorded in 1958 and 1959
With others
*
Teddy Charles, ''
Jazz in the Garden at the Museum of Modern Art'' (
Warwick, 1960
961 – re-issued as ''Sounds of Inner City'' by
Booker Ervin and Little (TCB, 1970)
*
Slide Hampton, ''
Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty'' (Strand, 1959)
*
Bill Henderson, ''Bill Henderson Sings'' (
Vee-Jay, 1959)
*
Abbey Lincoln, ''
Straight Ahead'' (Candid, 1961)
*
Frank Strozier, ''
Fantastic Frank Strozier'' (Vee-Jay, 1959–60
960
* V.A., ''
Newport Rebels'' (Candid, 1960
961; Little performs on one track
* V.A., ''The Soul of Jazz Percussion'' (Warwick, 1960); re-issued as ''The Third World'' by
Donald Byrd and Little (TCB, ca 1970)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Booker
1938 births
1961 deaths
American male jazz composers
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
African-American jazz musicians
Hard bop trumpeters
Candid Records artists
Avant-garde jazz trumpeters
20th-century American trumpeters
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American jazz composers
20th-century African-American musicians
DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members