Booker Little

From Freepedia

Booker Little, Jr (born on April 2, 1938 in Memphis, TN., died October 5, 1961 in New York City, NY) was a United States jazz trumpeter and composer.

One of the shortest careers in Jazz history, Little nevertheless made a noteworthy contribution to the music.

He trained at Chicago Conservatory (1956-58) and worked with leading local musicians such as Johnny Griffin. Later, moving to New York, his most significant associations were with Drummer Max Roach and multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, recording with them both under his own name and theirs. With Dolphy, he co-led a residency at the Five Spot club in New York in June 1961, from which three classic albums were eventually issued by Prestige Records.

Only four albums under his own name were recorded: Booker Little4 + Max Roach (1958) for United Artists, Booker Little Quartet (1960) for Time, his masterpiece Out Front (1961) for Candid and finally Booker Little and Friend(reissued as Victory and Sorrow) for Bethlehem mere weeks before his passing.

Died from Uremia.