Booker Little Jr. was born on April 2, 1938, and died on October 5, 1961. He was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. During his short career, he was on many recordings as both a supporting musician and a leader. He performed with Max Roach, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy. He was influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. He died when he was 23 years old.

Early life

Booker Little Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Booker, a Pullman porter and trombonist, and his wife, Ophelia Little, a church organist. He had three sisters: Helena, Vivian, and Vera Little, who later sang with the London Opera Company. Growing up in a family that valued music, Little became interested in music at a young age. His first instrument was the trombone, like his father, but he switched to the clarinet at age 12. At 14, his band director encouraged him to try the trumpet, and he quickly chose it as his main instrument. In 1952, Little attended Manassas High School in Memphis, where he continued to develop his trumpet skills and graduated. Living in Memphis, he had the chance to grow his talent by playing with other musicians, including Phineas Newborn Jr., George Coleman, Frank Strozier, and his cousin Louis Smith. By his mid-teens, he was performing with Newborn in casual settings.

After high school, Little moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1954 to study at the Chicago Conservatory. There, he focused on trumpet but also studied composition, theory, and orchestration, with a minor in piano. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in his main instrument. As a sophomore, he met Sonny Rollins. For about nine months, they lived together at the YMCA, where Rollins helped Little develop his own unique musical style instead of copying other musicians.

Career

In 1955, while attending a recording session with Rollins, Little met drummer Max Roach. After Clifford Brown died the following year, Little joined Roach's band, the Max Roach Four, as the trumpet player. However, attending school made it difficult for Little to perform well, and he was replaced by Kenny Dorham. After graduating, Little returned to Roach's band in 1958 and regained his position from Dorham. In the band, he reunited with George Coleman, a friend from Memphis. As a trumpeter, Little made his recording debut on the album Max Roach + 4 on the Chicago Scene in June. He performed on pieces like "My Old Flame." Little recorded two more albums with the group, which Roach changed by replacing the piano with tuba player Ray Draper. On Max Roach + 4 at Newport, Little introduced his first composition, "Minor Mode," and was the main soloist on "A Night in Tunisia." On the album Deeds, Not Words, Little demonstrated his arranging skills in the opening piece, "You Stepped Out of a Dream," where the tenor sax, trumpet, and tuba shared similar musical patterns that created tension and complex music in the unusual piano-less group. Little helped arrange most of the pieces on the Deeds, Not Words album.

In October, the group appeared on ABC's Stars of Jazz television program. Also in 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 saxophone, and Davis on bass (with Tommy Flanagan on piano). On The Defiant Ones, Little performed three of his original compositions: "Rounders Mode," "Dungeons Waltz," and "Jewels Tempo." After releasing his first album as a 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.

During his time away from the group, Little worked independently in New York, meeting musicians such as John Coltrane, Slide Hampton, and Teddy Charles. He participated in two tracks of a reunion album with old friends, including Coleman, Strozier, Smith, Phineas Newborn Jr., Calvin Newborn, George Joyner, and Charles Crosby, titled Down Home Reunion, credited as Young Men From Memphis. The group showcased their interest in blues music. From the end of 1959 to early 1960, Little contributed to albums such as Slide!, Bill Henderson Sings, and Fantastic Frank Strozier, the last album he recorded before returning to Roach's group. He also released his second album as a leader, simply titled Booker Little, for Bob Shad's Time label, where he introduced original compositions like "Opening Statement," "Minor Sweet," "Bee Tee's Minor Plea," "Life's a Little Blue," and "The Grand Valse."

In 1960, Little rejoined Roach's band and recorded 14 albums from April 1960 to September 1961. After returning, Little took on a larger role as music director and composed more music for the group. The first album Roach recorded with Little as a trumpeter was We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite. Little continued working with Roach but soon met Eric Dolphy. The partnership between Little and Dolphy introduced the possibility of a new musical sound. Early in their collaboration, Dolphy recorded Far Cry with Little on trumpet. Little also released his third album as a leader, Out Front, which was inspired by his work on We Insist!. After recording We Insist!, Little was hired by Nat Hentoff to write for Candid Records.

With Dolphy, Little co-led a residency at the Five Spot club in New York in June 1961, from which three albums were released by the Prestige label: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Volumes 1 & 2 and the Memorial Album. During this time, Little began to expand the expressive range of the "vernacular" bebop style, which originated with Clifford Brown, his most direct musical influence. Little recorded his final album with Roach in August 1961, titled Percussion Bitter Sweet, with Dolphy on saxophone. He also released his last album as a leader, Booker Little and Friend (also known as Victory and Sorrow).

After years of physical pain, Little died on October 5, 1961, in New York City from complications caused by uremia at the age of 23. He was survived by his wife, two sons, Booker T. III and Larry Cornelius, and two daughters, Cornelia and Ana Dorsey.

Discography

• Booker Little 4 and Max Roach (United Artists, 1958 [1959])
• Booker Little (Time, 1960)
• Out Front (Candid, 1961)
• Booker Little and Friend (Bethlehem, 1961); re-issued as Victory and Sorrow (Bethlehem, 1977)

• Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961)
• The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2 (Impulse!, 1961 [1974])
• The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. 4: Trane's Modes (Impulse!, 1961 [1979]); Little performs on two tracks

• Far Cry (Prestige, 1960 [1962])
• Dash One (Prestige, 1960–61 [1982]); Little performs on two tracks
• Here and There (Prestige, 1960–61 [1966]); Little performs on one track
• At the Five Spot, Volume 1 (Prestige, 1961)
• At the Five Spot, Volume 2 (Prestige, 1961 [1963])
• Memorial Album Recorded Live at the Five Spot (Prestige, 1961 [1965])

• 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 [1960])
• The Many Sides of Max (Mercury, 1959 [1964])
• We Insist! (Candid, 1960)
• Percussion Bitter Sweet (Impulse!, 1961)
• Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years (Verve, 1954–60 [1995]); Little performs on three tracks recorded in 1958 and 1959

• Teddy Charles, Jazz in the Garden at the Museum of Modern Art (Warwick, 1960 [1961]) – 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 [1960])
• V.A., Newport Rebels (Candid, 1960 [1961]); 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)