Life's A Little Blue - Music

Booker Little Jr. April 2 1938 – October 5 1961 Was An American Jazz Trumpeter And Composer. He Appeared On A Number Of Recordings Both As Side-Man And As Leader. Little Was Closely Associated With Max Roach But Also Performed With John Coltrane And Eric Dolphy And Was Strongly Influenced By Sonny Rollins And Clifford Brown. He Died At Age 23. Little Was Born In Memphis Tennessee. He Was The Fourth Child Of Booker A Pullman Porter Who Was Also A Trombonist And His Wife Ophelia Who Played Piano . Little Graduated From Manassas High School. He Studied Trumpet At The Chicago Conservatory With Joseph Summerhill From 1956 To 1958 And It Was During This Time That He Worked With Leading Local Musicians Such As Johnny Griffin. Later After Moving To New York While He Lived With Sonny Rollins Little Became Associated With Drummer Max Roach And Multi-Instrumentalist Eric Dolphy Recording With Them Both As A Sideman And A Leader. 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 Prestige Records. It Was During This Stint That He Began To Show Promise Of Expanding The Expressive Range Of The "vernacular" Bebop Idiom Started By Clifford Brown His Most Obvious Influence As A Performer. He Also Appeared On Dolphy's Album Far Cry New Jazz 8270 Recorded December 21 1960. Little Died Of Complications Resulting From Uremia On October 5 1961 In New York City New York. He Was Survived By His Wife Two Sons Booker T. III And Larry Cornelius And 2 Daughters Larue Cornelia And Ana Dorsey. Discography As Leader
1958 Booker Little 4 And Max Roach United Artists 1960 Booker Little Time 1961 Out Front Candid Records With Julian Priester Eric Dolphy Don Friedman Ron Carter Art Davis Max Roach
1961 Booker Little And Friend Bethlehem This Album Was Re-Released Under The Name Victory And Sorrow As Sideman
With Max Roach 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 The Many Sides Of Max Mercury 1959 We Insist! Candid 1960 Percussion Bitter Sweet Impulse! 1961 With Eric Dolphy Far Cry Prestige 1960 At The Five Spot New Jazz / OJC 1961 With John Coltrane Africa/Brass Impulse! 1960 With Slide Hampton Slide Hampton And His Horn Of Plenty Strand 1959 With Bill Henderson Bill Henderson Sings Vee Jay 1959 With Abbey Lincoln Straight Ahead Candid 1961 With Frank Strozier Fantastic Frank Strozier Vee-Jay 1960 read less