Booker Little - How We Do

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 127:48
Size: 294,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. Sweet and Lovely
(5:11)  2. If I Should Lose You
(5:35)  3. Milestones
(5:39)  4. Calling Softly
(4:30)  5. Dungeon's Waltz
(6:37)  6. Jewel's Tempo
(5:54)  7. Matilde
(6:45)  8. We Speak
(5:43)  9. Moonlight Becomes You
(6:19) 10. Forward Flight
(4:49) 11. Man of Words
(8:10) 12. Quiet, Please
(4:55) 13. The Grand Valse
(5:31) 14. A New Day
(6:16) 15. Strength and Sanity
(6:51) 16. Life's a Little Blue
(5:57) 17. Victory and Sorrow
(5:16) 18. Booker's Blues
(5:39) 19. Bee Tee's Minor Plea
(5:24) 20. Who Can I Turn to (When Nobody Needs Me)
(5:39) 21. Minor Sweet
(6:41) 22. Opening Statement

The first trumpeter emerging after Clifford Brown's death to gain his own sound, Booker Little had a tremendous amount of potential before his premature death. He began on trumpet when he was 12 and played with Johnny Griffin and the MJT + 3 while attending the Chicago Conservatory. 

Little was with Max Roach (1958-1959) and then freelanced in New York. He recorded with Roach and Abbey Lincoln, was on John Coltrane's Africa/Brass album, and was well-documented during a July 1961 gig at the Five Spot with Eric Dolphy. Little had a memorable melancholy sound and his interval jumps looked toward the avant-garde, but he also swung like a hard bopper. Booker Little led four sessions (one album apiece for United Artists, Time, Candid, and Bethlehem), but died of uremia at the age of 23, a particularly tragic loss. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/booker-little-mn0000097529/biography

How We Do

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Booker Little - The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:15
Size: 130,2 MB
Art: Front

( 5:17)  1. Scoochie
( 4:46)  2. Cycles
( 3:41)  3. Stardust
( 6:52)  4. The Confined Few
( 3:39)  5. Blues De Tambour
( 4:37)  6. Witch Fire
(10:44)  7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
( 8:09)  8. Blue 'N' Boogie
( 8:26)  9. After Hours

Despite the extreme brevity of his life passing away at the tender age of 23 Booker Little left behind one of the most important legacies of the jazz trumpet; a legacy that has stood the test of time, growing stronger with each passing year. 

The unrivalled trumpeter is featured here in two settings; a stellar date with the under appreciated tenor saxophone giant Booker Ervin, and an unprecedented octet session featuring a who's who of Memphis, Tennessee's most celebrated musicians. A rare release by one of the finest and most underrated legends of the jazz trumpet. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/booker-little-albums/3510-featuring-booker-ervin-new-york-sessions.html

Personnel:  Trumpet – Booker Little; Bass – Addison Farmer; Drums – Ed Shaughnessy; Piano – Mal Waldron; Vibraphone – Teddy Charles

The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

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The Slide Hampton Octet - Two Sides of Slide

Styles: Trombone Jazz 
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:28
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(9:10)  1. Newport
(3:24)  2. Autumn Leaves
(4:00)  3. Althea
(4:21)  4. Jazz Corner
(3:00)  5. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
(5:53)  6. Go East, Young Man
(3:42)  7. Patricia
(4:10)  8. Woodyn' You
(3:45)  9. There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York
(3:47) 10. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
(4:32) 11. Summertime
(2:36) 12. I Love You Porgy
(4:53) 13. It Ain't Necessarily So / The Cloister (Dance Suite)
(4:39) 14. Part I Impression
(4:11) 15. Part II Obsession
(2:57) 16. Part III Expression
(3:20) 17. Part IV Possession

The two octets Slide Hampton uses on this recording are quite similar in content but different in the way they execute this music, and much of it has to do with the distinct difference in personnel, and the two years that separate their recording dates. The first half deals with hard to post-bop modifications and the way the group approaches a bridge between the two, while the other end of the program concentrates on interpretations the music written by George Gershwin, plus an extended four-part suite written by Hampton. These dual sides of Slide Hampton combine to form a complete picture of what the emerging arranger and trombonist offered as a individualist aside from peers (Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson, Lalo Schifrin, et. al.) who concentrated on movie soundtracks. The sessions from 1959 include Bernard McKinney on the baritone horn, three different drummers (Kenny Dennis, Charlie Persip, and Pete LaRoca) on select tracks, and fledgling young trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, even though Burt Collins does all of the lead brass work with Hampton. "Newport" starts the set in a modal walk, the intro initially similar to "You Don't Know What Love Is," then merges into a steady streaming freight train jam. Four other Hampton originals range from the Latin unison call outs and boogaloo/bop "Althea" (assumedly for tennis star Althea Gibson), the regal "Go East, Young Man" based on the changes of "Milestones," the much quieter post-bopper "Jazz Corner," and the simple straight bop of "Patricia." 

Standards "Autumn Leaves," "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," and "Woody 'n' You" feature add-ons from the originals like chatty, choppy horns, more anthemic than normal hues, and a harder, abundant, modified line, respectively. A slightly less potent but still talented lineup from 1961 plays the five Gershwin pieces, with "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York" again richly enhanced with a little rock & roll beat tossed in; "Summertime" is performed via high drama, and "It Ain't Necessarily So" is dressed in Latin trim. George Coleman is the lone artist besides Hampton and baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron on the entire date, and the always effervescent tenor saxophonist gets a laid-back solo during "I Loves You Porgy." The "dance" suite "The Cloister" is impressionistic within ballad, easy swing, slightly urgent waltz, and frantic bop segments, with some call and response at the end. Other than some drum fills from Lex Humphries, the piece is played to strict tolerances, and over some 14 minutes, is not as memorable as the other tracks, although hinting at future projects of Hampton's. As solid musically as any mainstream jazz fan might need, this is an important prelude to other large ensemble projects Slide Hampton assembled, and deserves repeat listenings to fully reap its rewards. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/two-sides-of-slide-hampton-mw0000369027

ON TRACKS [1-8]: Recorded in New York, 1959: SLIDE HAMPTON, trombone; FREDDIE HUBBARD, BOOKER LITTLE, BURT COLLINS, trumpet; BERNANRD McKINNEY, baritone horn; GEORGE COLEMAN, tenor sax & clarinet; JAY CAMERON, baritone sax, bass clarinet; GEORGE TUCKER, bass; PETE LaROCA, KENNY DENNIS, CARLIE PERSIP, drums

ON TRACKS [9-17]: Recorded in New York, 1961: SLIDE HAMPTON, BEN JACOBS-EL, trombone; HOBART DOTSON, WILLIE THOMAS, trumpet; GEORGE COLEMAN, tenor sax; JAY CAMERON, baritone sax; EDDIE KAHN, bass; LEX HUMPHRIES, drums

Two Sides of Slide

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Booker Little - Booker Little And Friend

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:28
Size: 134,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Victory And Sorrow
(6:18)  2. Forward Flight
(7:26)  3. Looking Ahead
(5:11)  4. If I Should Lose You
(5:39)  5. Calling Softly
(5:16)  6. Booker's Blues
(5:55)  7. Matilde
(8:27)  8. Looking Ahead (take 4)
(8:16)  9. Looking Ahead (take 7)

A CD reissue of trumpeter Booker Little's Victory and Sorrow album for Bethlehem, this release adds two previously unheard alternate takes of "Matilde" to the original program. Little's final recording before he died of uremia at the age of 23, the sextet session also features fine playing by trombonist Julian Priester, tenor saxophonist George Coleman, pianist Don Friedman, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Pete LaRoca. However, Booker Little is generally the top soloist on the harmonically advanced hard bop date and he is in peak form throughout although he would pass away on October 5 of that year. Of his six originals, "Molotone Music" and "Victory and Sorrow" are most memorable even if Little's beautiful playing on a quartet version of the date's one standard, "If I Should Lose You," is actually the highpoint. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/booker-little-and-friend-mw0000175012

Personnel: Trumpet – Booker Little; Bass – Reggie Workman; Drums – Pete La Roca; Piano – Don Freedman; Tenor Saxophone – George Coleman;  Trombone – Julian Priester

Booker Little And Friend

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Donald Byrd & Booker Little - The Third World

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:11
Size: 76,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Chasing the Bird
(3:47)  2. Prophecy
(6:11)  3. Ping Pong Beer
(2:23)  4. Construction
(4:42)  5. Quiet Temple
(2:51)  6. November Afternoon
(4:20)  7. Call to Arms
(5:03)  8. Wee Tina

There is more and less than meets the eye with this hard bop collection from 1960: less Booker Little and more performers than are listed on the CD. A little research corroborates what the ear suspects: the eight tracks come from three sessions, only one of which has trumpeters Little and Donald Byrd together (three tracks). The other sessions feature, respectively, Little and trombonist Curtis Fuller (two tracks) and Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams (three tracks). Adams is one of a half-dozen performers not credited on the CD. To further confuse matters, both the session with Little and Byrd and the one with Little and Fuller have uncredited additional trumpeters Marcus Belgrave and Don Ellis, respectively. Suffice to say, sorting out who plays the trumpet solos is not easy. It seems, though, that Little solos only on one, possibly two, numbers. Originally, these tracks came out on a Warwick LP called Soul of Jazz Percussion. This explains the additional percussion parts some integrated more effectively than others on each of the tracks. Overall, the Byrd/Adams tracks are the most consistent. "November Afternoon" from the Little/Fuller set and "Chasing the Bird" and "Wee Tina" from the Little/Byrd set are also okay. Even so, factor in a couple of poorly handled fadeout endings along with some mixing and editing gaffes and there is not enough here to rate a recommendation, except, perhaps, to the ardent Booker Little completist. ~ Jim Todd https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-third-world-mw0000603542

Personnel: Donald Byrd, Booker Little - trumpet; Bill Evans, Mal Waldron - piano; Pepper Adams - baritone saxophone; Marcus Belgrave, Don Ellis - trumpet; Curtis Fuller - trombone; Paul Chambers, Adison Farmer - bass; Armando Peraza - congas; Willie Rodriguez, Earl Zindars - perc. Philly Joe Jones Ed Shaughnessy - drums.

Third World

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Booker Little - Out Front

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:03
Size: 101,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:46)  1. We Speak
(6:17)  2. Strength And Sanity
(8:10)  3. Quiet Please
(5:44)  4. Moods In Free Time
(4:51)  5. Man Of Words
(6:41)  6. Hazy Blues
(5:31)  7. A New Day

Booker Little was the first trumpet soloist to emerge in jazz after the death of Clifford Brown to have his own sound. His tragically brief life (he died at age 23 later in 1961) cut short what would have certainly been a major career. Little, on this sextet date with multi-reedist Eric Dolphy, trombonist Julian Priester, and drummer Max Roach, shows that his playing was really beyond bebop. His seven now-obscure originals (several of which deserve to be revived) are challenging for the soloists and there are many strong moments during these consistently challenging and satisfying performances. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-front-mw0000197893

Personnel: Booker Little - trumpet; Julian Priester - trombone; Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute; Don Friedman - piano; Art Davis (tracks 1, 3 & 7), Ron Carter (tracks 2 & 4-6) - bass; Max Roach - drums, timpani, vibraphone

Out Front

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Max Roach - Deeds, Not Words

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1958
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:50
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:49)  1. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(7:09)  2. Filide
(4:15)  3. It's You Or No One
(4:59)  4. Jodie's Cha-Cha
(4:37)  5. Deeds, Not Words
(5:15)  6. Larry-Larue
(3:51)  7. Conversation
(5:51)  8. There Will Never Be Another You

This Max Roach Riverside date is notable for featuring the great young trumpeter Booker Little and for utilizing Ray Draper's tuba as a melody instrument; tenor saxophonist George Coleman and bassist Art Davis complete the excellent quintet. 

Highlights include "It's You or No One," "You Stepped Out of a Dream," and Roach's unaccompanied drum piece "Conversation." This is fine music from a group that was trying to stretch themselves beyond hard bop.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/deeds-not-words-mw0000651771      

Personnel: Max Roach (drums); George Coleman (tenor saxophone); Booker Little (trumpet); Ray Draper (tuba); Art Davis, Oscar Pettiford (bass).

Deeds, Not Words

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Booker Little 4 - Milestones

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:48
Size: 116.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1961/2011
Art: Front

[ 5:36] 1. Milestones
[ 5:19] 2. Rounder's Mood
[ 8:09] 3. Blue 'n Boogie
[ 4:27] 4. Dungeon Waltz
[ 6:34] 5. Jewel's Tempo
[ 5:40] 6. Moonlight Becomes You
[10:45] 7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
[ 4:14] 8. Sweet And Lovely

Bass – Art Davis; Drums – Max Roach; Piano – Tommy Flanagan; Tenor Saxophone – George Coleman; Trumpet – Booker Little. Recorded in New York, October 1958.

This CD reissue features trumpeter Booker Little at the beginning of his tragically brief career. The first six selections find the distinctive soloist playing with a quintet also including the young tenor George Coleman, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Art Davis, and drummer Max Roach (who was his regular employer at the time). Little contributed three now-obscure originals and also plays two standards and an early version of Miles Davis' "Milestones." The remainder of the CD has lengthy versions of "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" and "Blue 'n Boogie" from a jam session that matched Little with fellow Memphis-based players including Coleman, altoist Frank Strozier, and the masterful pianist Phineas Newborn. Overall, this forward-looking hard bop set is easily recommended. ~Scott Yanow

Milestones mc
Milestones zippy

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Eric Dolphy & Booker Little Remembered - Live at Sweet Basil Vol. II - Fire Waltz

Styles: Trumpet Jazz

Year: 1988

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 47:31

Size: 108,9 MB

Art: Front

(15:56)  1. Number Eight

(17:28)  2. Fire Waltz

(14:05)  3. Bee Vamp

Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison continued their homage to the Eric Dolphy/Booker Little duo with a second set of performances recorded at Sweet Basil. They featured "Fire Waltz" and "Bee Vamp," two more tunes the duo immortalized during their Five Spot performances. Their versions are well-intentioned, frequently exciting, and superbly played. But they are not transcendent for the simple reason that Harrison lacks Dolphy's fluency on either alto sax or bass clarinet, and Blanchard does not possess Little's command of the upper register or his embouchure. That is not a knock; they certainly clicked with the rhythm section of pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Ed Blackwell, who did play on the originals. Both of these volumes are highly recommended, but if you have not heard the originals, do whatever it takes to get them.~Ron Wynn http://www.allmusic.com/album/eric-dolphy-booker-little-remembered-live-at-sweet-basil-vol-2-fire-waltz-mw0000200967

Personnel: Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Donald Harrison (alto saxophone, bass clarinet); Mal Waldron (piano); Richard Davis (bass); Eddie Blackwell (drums).

Fire Waltz

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Booker Little & Booker Ervin - Sounds Of The Inner City

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:52
Size: 66,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:20)  1. Scoochie
(4:46)  2. Cycles
(3:41)  3. Stardust
(6:52)  4. The Confined Few
(3:39)  5. Blues De Tambour
(4:32)  6. Witch Fire

Two masters of hard bop, trumpeter Booker Little and tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, square off on this 1960 session reissued by Collectables as Sounds of the Inner City. This date has been released under various titles over the years since its original inception as Teddy Charles' New Directions Quartet Featuring Booker Little and Booker Ervin. Most of the material is straight-ahead bop under the leadership of vibraphonist Teddy Charles with Mal Waldron on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Ed Shaunesssy on drums. This is a noteworthy reissue considering that there are so few instances of Little's lyrical trumpet style and Ervin's passionate tenor recorded together. Original compositions include Ervin's "Scoochie," Little's "The Confined Few" and "Witch Fire," Shaunessy's "Blues de Tambour," pianist Ahmad Jamal's "Cycles," plus the standard "Stardust" (receiving an especially melancholy treatment.) The only complaint is the lack of liner notes, which excludes information on personnel and session history.~Al Campbell http://www.allmusic.com/album/sounds-of-the-inner-city-mw0000052199

Personnel: Booker Little (trumpet); Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone).

Sounds Of The Inner City

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Eric Dolphy With Booker Little - Far Cry

Styles:  Saxophone, Clarinet And Flute Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 111,3 MB
Art: Front

(8:03)  1. Mrs.Parker of K.C. (Bird's Mother)
(8:45)  2. Ode To Charlie Parker
(3:55)  3. Far Cry
(4:18)  4. Miss Ann
(6:42)  5. Left Alone
(4:20)  6. Tenderly
(5:41)  7. It's Magic
(6:37)  8. Serene

In the early sixties, Eric Dolphy was one of the young rebels responsible for moving jazz forward in giant strides, advancements that led some to call his music “anti-jazz”. Although not quite as deliberately bizarre as Out to Lunch, Far Cry is still exactly that: a far cry from what virtually everyone considered jazz to be. On this session Dolphy is joined by two like-minded weirdos in Little and Byard, as well as an able rhythm section in Carter and Haynes (who benefit the most from the 20-bit remastering). Everything that we’ve come to love about Dolphy is on display here, from the unorthodox instruments to the stuttering, belligerent solos that seem to go from New York to LA by way of Saturn.

Although the first two tracks bear titles that pay tribute to Charlie Parker, Dolphy mainly keeps his Bird influences in his back pocket, instead exploring daring intervallic leaps and abstract phrasing (there’s even an unaccompanied saxophone solo, something no one since Coleman Hawkins had really successfully explored). Like Dolphy, Little was another prodigy who died early in his career; his smoothly wandering lines provide a sharp contrast to Dolphy’s prickly approach. Byard, of course, has an affection for all styles of piano playing and often welds them into the same passage, a technique he would really perfect in the company of Roland Kirk. At the time, this was forward thinking music that even today has a whiff of the avant-garde.However, some may prefer Dolphy’s earlier work as a sideman; in more straightforward sessions like Oliver Nelson’s Blues and the Abstract Truth or Chico Hamilton’s Gongs East, Dolphy makes more of an impact, simply because his contributions are so startling compared to the other players. Far Cry, a bold attempt to challenge the status quo, shows how others had begun to catch up to the new thing.~David Rickert http://www.allaboutjazz.com/far-cry-eric-dolphy-fantasy-jazz-review-by-david-rickert.php

Personnel: Eric Dolphy-bass clarinet, alto sax, flute; Booker Little-trumpet; Jaki Byard-piano; Ron Carter-bass; Roy Haynes-drums.

Far Cry

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Booker Little - Bee Tee's Minor Plea

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:57
Size: 80,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:38)  1. Opening Statement
(5:36)  2. Minor Sweet
(5:36)  3. Bee Tee's Minor Plea
(6:48)  4. Life's A Little Blue
(4:53)  5. Grand Valse
(5:23)  6. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)

Trumpeter Booker Little's second session as a leader (there would only be four) is a quartet outing (with Wynton Kelly on piano, bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Roy Haynes) that puts the emphasis on relaxed tempoes. Little's immediately recognizable melancholy sound and lyrical style are heard in top form on "Who Can I Turn To" and five of his originals, some of which deserve to be revived. His jazz waltz "The Grand Valse" (inspired by Sonny Rollins' "Valse Hot") is a highpoint of this set which has been reissued by Bainbridge/Time on CD. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/booker-little-mw0000313900

Personnel: Booker Little (trumpet), Wynton Kelly (piano), Scott LaFaro (bass), Roy Haynes (drums)

Bee Tee's Minor Plea

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Booker Little - Save Your Love For Me

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:08
Size: 181.1 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[5:40] 1. Moonlight Becomes You
[4:13] 2. Sweet And Lovely
[5:36] 3. Calling Softly
[4:27] 4. Dungeon Waltz
[5:51] 5. Matilde
[6:42] 6. We Speak
[5:09] 7. If I Should Lose You
[8:07] 8. Quiet Please
[4:47] 9. Man Of Words
[4:53] 10. Grand Valse
[6:13] 11. Strength And Sanity
[6:48] 12. Life's A Little Blue
[5:13] 13. Booker's Blues
[5:23] 14. Who Can I Turn To

The first trumpeter emerging after Clifford Brown's death to gain his own sound, Booker Little had a tremendous amount of potential before his premature death. He began on trumpet when he was 12 and played with Johnny Griffin and the MJT + 3 while attending the Chicago Conservatory. Little was with Max Roach (1958-1959) and then freelanced in New York. He recorded with Roach and Abbey Lincoln, was on John Coltrane's Africa/Brass album, and was well-documented during a July 1961 gig at the Five Spot with Eric Dolphy. Little had a memorable melancholy sound and his interval jumps looked toward the avant-garde, but he also swung like a hard bopper. Booker Little led four sessions (one album apiece for United Artists, Time, Candid, and Bethlehem), but died of uremia at the age of 23, a particularly tragic loss. ~bio by Scott Yanow

Save Your Love For Me

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