Booker Little born 2 April 1938

 Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) was an American jazz 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, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy and was strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. 

Little was born in Memphis, Tennessee to a trombonist father and piano playing mother. Both of his parents played in church groups, and his sister Vera later sang with the London Opera Company. At first, the boy attempted to learn trombone, then switched to clarinet at age twelve. At fourteen, urged by his Manassas High School band director, Little switched to the trumpet for good. Memphis was a fertile musical city the boy grew up jamming with many future jazz notables, including pianist Phineas Newborn, Jr. and his guitar playing brother Calvin, trumpeter Louis Smith, who was also a cousin, pianist Harold Mabern, and saxophonists George Coleman, Charles Lloyd, and Frank Strozier. 

In 1954, Little left Memphis to study trumpet and composition at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, where he earned a Bachelors of Music degree in trumpet. While in Chicago, he spent time jamming around the city with the likes of tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, as well as drummer Walter Perkins and bassist Bob Cranshaw, better known as the Modern Jazz Two (MJT). While he was a sophomore at the Conservatory, Little roomed for nine months at the YMCA with saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Rollins exerted a strong influence on Little’s musical conception, encouraging the young trumpeter to form a distinct voice on his horn. 

Rollins also introduced Little to drummer Max Roach in 1955, while Clifford Brown still held the trumpet chair in Roach’s group. Brown died the next year, and Roach approached Little to replace him in the group. Still in school at the time, however, Little declined and the seat was filled by Kenny Dorham. Upon graduating in June 1958, Little almost immediately flew to St. Louis to replace Dorham in Roach’s pianoless quartet – which also featured his old friend from Memphis, George Coleman. 

Little remained in Roach’s group until February 1960, a remarkable nine month run during which he recorded prolifically with the drummer on albums such as On the Chicago Scene, Max Roach Plus Four at Newport, Deeds Not Words (which featured Little’s first recorded composition, “Larry-Larue”), Award Winning Drummer, and The Many Sides of Max Roach. Booker Little 4 & Max Roach, the trumpeter’s first album as a leader, was recorded in New York in October 1958 with Coleman on tenor, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Art Davis, and Roach on drums. 

                              

The purity of Little’s tone and his consistency throughout all registers is the most striking quality of his playing on these early recordings. His undeniable talent is audible from his first recorded note, with beautifully contoured, effervescent lines flowing joyously from his horn. The young trumpeter was still only twenty years old, however, and the influence of Clifford Brown is immediately apparent, making these early records an interesting study of a developing star striving to find his own voice. 

After leaving Roach, Little settled in New York and began freelancing. In April 1959, he reunited with some Memphis schoolmates to record Down Home Reunion, a blues-heavy jam session. Later in 1959, Little locked horns with fellow trumpeter Freddie Hubbard on Slide Hampton’s intricately-arranged Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty. He also recorded on Strozier’s The Fantastic Frank Strozier, which featured a strong solo by Little on Runnin‘ and vocalist Bill Henderson on Bill Henderson Sings. 

1960 was a monumental year for Little. He rejoined Roach’s group and also recorded his second album as a leader, simply titled Booker Little. He took giant strides on this album, stepping out from Clifford Brown’s shadow. 1960 also saw the birth of one of jazz’s most important and tragically short frontline pairings: Little and multireedist Eric Dolphy. Despite its brevity, the partnership of Little and Dolphy still resonates today. Their first album from December 1960, Far Cry, is an undisputed classic and featured an all-star rhythm section of Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, and Roy Haynes. 

During the summer of 1961 Little and Dolphy were employed at the Five Spot Cafe in New York City with Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums. Dolphy and Little stretched out night after night, working out their daring ideas without the constraints of a recording studio. As in all cases where artists challenge the envelope of acceptance, some audience members and critics applauded their efforts, while others derided their boldness.

 With his colossal talent just coming to fruition and a bright future lying ahead, Little succumbed to uremia on 5 October 1961 at the age of twenty three. But fortunately, in Little’s less than four years of recorded work, he left us with more to think about than many musicians do in a lifetime.

(Edited from Jazz Giants)

Here’s a rare clip of the Max Roach Quintet performing a Booker Little composition on a 1958 TV programme. Personnel: Max Roach, drums; Booker Little, trumpet; George Coleman, tenor sax; Ray Draper, tuba; Art Davis, bass.