Arthur Edward Booth Jr. (February 12, 1948 – July 11, 2021) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

. His professional name was Juini Booth, though his nickname has been spelled Jiunie, Junie, Joony, Jooney, Joonie, Juni, Juney, and Junius, over the course of his career.

Career

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, Booth began playing piano at about age eight and switched to cello and then bass at 12. His nickname originated from his older sister's inability to pronounce "Junior" as a child. Both of Booth's parents died in 1961 when he was 13 years old. While at East High School, Booth was a member of string class and played bass in bands. Later he played in the orchestra at Lafayette High School. He worked with

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

in his hometown in 1964-65 before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

around 1966, where he played with

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the ...

(1967),

Sonny Simmons Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician. Biography Simmons was born on August 4, 1933 in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along ...

(1967–68), Marzette Watts (1966, 1968), Freddie Hubbard (1968–71), and

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

(1970). He played with

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...

in Hollywood in 1969.Gary W. Kennedy, "Jiunie Booth". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. Oxford Music Online. In the early 1970s Booth played with Tony Williams's Lifetime (1971–73) and McCoy Tyner (1973–76), also recording during this time with Larry Young (1973), Takehiro Honda, and

Masabumi Kikuchi was a Japanese jazz pianist and composer known for his unique playing style. He worked with many diverse musicians, including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, and collaborated with Gil Evans ...

, the last two during a tour of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in 1974. After a short period with Hamiett Bluiett in 1976 he returned to Buffalo, though he also worked with

Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Awar ...

in Los Angeles and Junior Cook in New York in 1977. In 1977–78 he played with

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebra ...

and

Charles Tolliver Charles Tolliver (born 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and co-founder of Strata East Records. Biography Tolliver was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1942 and moved with his family to New York City when he was 10. During his ch ...

. From 1980 to 1982 he played with

Ernie Krivda Ernie Krivda (born February 6, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio as Krvda Ernö) is a jazz saxophone player. Ernie Krivda began his professional career in 1963 with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. During the 1960s he played in bands of two Cleveland le ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

, as well as locally in Buffalo. He recorded freelance with Beaver Harris (1983), Steve Grossman and Joe Chambers (1984), Franklin Kiermyer, and others. Juini Booth began working with

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

starting in 1967 and was one of the Arkestra's longest serving members. After spending a number of weeks in declining health, Booth died on July 11, 2021, aged 73, in Buffalo.

Discography

With

*''

Harlem Bush Music ''Harlem Bush Music'' is a compilation of two albums by saxophonist Gary Bartz NTU Troop, recorded in 1970 and 1971 and released on the Milestone label. Reception Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. of AllMusic wrote: "How one finally looks at ''Harlem Bu ...

'' (Milestone, 1970–71) With

Joe Bonner Joe Bonner (April 20, 1948 – November 20, 2014) was a hard bop and modal jazz pianist, influenced by McCoy Tyner and Art Tatum. He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and studied at Virginia State College, but indicated that he lea ...

*'' Angel Eyes'' (Muse, 1976) With Junior Cook *'' Pressure Cooker'' (Catalyst, 1977) With

*'' Beyond the Rain'' (Contemporary, 1977) With Steve Grossman *'' Way Out East'' (Red Record, 1984) With

*''

Time Capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics date ...

'' (Vanguard, 1977) With Franklin Kiermyer *'' Further'' (Mobility Music, 2014) With

*'' Outside'' (Contemporary, 1969) With George Spanos *'' Dreams Beyond'' (Evolver Records, 2014) *'' Reflections'' (George Spanos, 2017) With McCoy Tyner *''

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

'' (Milestone, 1973) *'' Song of the New World'' (Milestone, 1973) *''

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that bes ...

'' (Milestone, 1975)

References

External links

Official Website
*
Entry 1 at imdb

Entry 2 at imdb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Juini 1948 births 2021 deaths musicians from Buffalo, New York American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from New York (state) The Tony Williams Lifetime members 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians