[chris]

After hearing "Far Cry" I definitely need some more Booker Little. Presumably there isn't that much, as he was taken from us early. What a talent he was!

What recordings should I be looking for?

[doubleM]

Look for "Out Front" on Candid. Look for "Booker and Friend". Both have stellar playing and compositions by Booker that show that he wrote great tunes, too.

[paul secor]

The Five Spot sessions with Eric Dolphy, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell.
Young Men from Memphis.
Max Roach's We Insist! Freedom Now Suite.

[Spontooneous]

All the dates with Dolphy, of course. (Beware the out-of-tune piano on the Five spot recordings.)

Let me reiterate the recommendation for "Booker Little and Friend," which gets overlooked because it doesn't have Dolphy. Some of his richest music and best writing is here.

Look also for the "Booker Little" date on the Time label, the one with Scott LaFaro. It was on CD for a while; shows up in cutouts now and then. Some of his most relaxed playing is here.

What a difference Booker would have made had he been able to hang around even a few more years! Still, he made a big difference in just 23.

[brownie]

Spontooneous, on Jan 12 2004, 10:10 PM, said:

All the dates with Dolphy, of course. (Beware the out-of-tune piano on the Five spot recordings.)

Let me reiterate the recommendation for "Booker Little and Friend," which gets overlooked because it doesn't have Dolphy. Some of his richest music and best writing is here.

Look also for the "Booker Little" date on the Time label, the one with Scott LaFaro. It was on CD for a while; shows up in cutouts now and then. Some of his most relaxed playing is here.

What a difference Booker would have made had he been able to hang around even a few more years! Still, he made a big difference in just 23.

Never mind the out of tune piano at the Five Spot when the Eric Dolphy quintet with Booker Little appeared there. Mal Waldron manages to make the best of it. Except for the wrong piano, everything and everybody were just about perfect that evening. One of the great moments of jazz. Those Five Spot albums are a must.
Most of the essential Booker Little have already been mentioned.
Let me just add three albums with remarkable contributions by Booker Little:
- Fantastic Frank Strozier, a quintet date that came out on VeeJay and should still be available on reissues,
- Percussion Bitter Sweet, the Impulse album by Max Roach,
- The Museum of Modern Art concert appearance by Teddy Charles where Booker Little and Booker Ervin teamed up. This was release by Warwick but reissues should be available.
Booker Little had a short career but his music was pretty well documented and he made quite a number of excellent records. Look around for them. You won't be disappointed.

[Claude]

Spontooneous, on Jan 13 2004, 04:10 AM, said:

Look also for the "Booker Little" date on the Time label, the one with Scott LaFaro. It was on CD for a while; shows up in cutouts now and then. Some of his most relaxed playing is here.

That would be my first choice as a Booker Little leader date

Booker Little (Time)

Unfortunately, the original tapes seem to have been lost, because the CD has been dubbed from vinyl.

[king ubu]

I think everything has been mentioned now, but: if you LOVE the Candid album, there's some alternate takes on "Candid Dolphy". The other stuff there, I think, has been added to the respective CDs (it's all sideman-Dolphy, he did not have his own Candid date), but the tracks from the Little date were not added to "Out Front" and can only be heard on that Dolphy disc.
the "And Friend" album is a great one, indeed!
I still got to listen to the Museum of Modern Art and the Time albums, but from what I have heard, "And Friend" is every bit as good as "Out Front" and the stuff with Dolphy.

ubu

[Joe]

In addition to the Time LP and the Five Spot recordings... there is some primo Booker Little on Max Roach's PERCUSSION BITTER SWEET. Great and rather important album with Dolphy, Julian Priester, Clifford Jordan, Mal Waldron, Abbey Lincoln...

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c484/c484223d62d.jpg

You might also keep an eye out for a Teddy Charles quintet recording that features a front line of Booker Ervin and Booker Little.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre300/e387/e387390vo26.jpg

[kh1958]

The Candid recording, Out Front, and the Bethleham recording, Victory and Sorrow, are his two mature masterpieces. Little's playing on these is great, his compositions are wonderful, and his leadership of the two sextets (with some overlapping personnel) is impressive.

[medjuck]

Spontooneous, on Jan 12 2004, 10:10 PM, said:

Look also for the "Booker Little" date on the Time label, the one with Scott LaFaro. It was on CD for a while; shows up in cutouts now and then. Some of his most relaxed playing is here.

Wierdly enough this turned up on the i-tunes music store today!