Booker Little & Friend [Limited Edition] [Import]

Product Description
Japanese exclusive 24 bit remastered reissue of 1961 album. Packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve. Unavailable in the U.S.

Booker Little & Friend,Booker Little,Japanese Import,Hard Bop,Jazz,Pop

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Average customer rating: I finally get it Desert Island Pick Just might be Booker's best Why has there no reissue of Booker Little's masterpiece? Truly "Out Front"

Out Front Booker Little Manufacturer: Candid Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Modern Post Bop | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Booker Little 4 and Max Roach Booker Little Complete Recordings Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 Freedom Book ASIN: B00004U04T Release Date: 1987-10-01

Tracks:

1. We Speak
2. Stength And Sanity
3. Quiet Please
4. Moods In Free Time
5. Man Of Words
6. Hazy Blues
7. A New Day

Customer Reviews:

I finally get it.......2006-01-03

This CD took its time revealing its charms to me. The use of a kind of omnipresent 3-part triadic harmony felt at the same time too rich and not rich enough. And which side of the Ornette fence does it stand on? Or does it sit on it? Well, these are the dangers of an overly canonical, overly historical approach to Jazz. If Booker would've lived past the age of 23, all would've surely been made clear. This is a very young man's record. And yet, it is the music of one who must have intuited that his time wasn't long. The playing and writing are brilliant, passionate and focused. The dirge - like qualities of Moods In Free Time are what finally woke me up to what's going on in this music. I myself would not have gone back to an ensemble part which resembles the opening at the end - that feels like the easy choice. But that's a minor cavil.
Booker's playing is so assured and lyrical. I love the way he attacks high notes. They don't seem to have the climactic function they have for so many trumpeters - they seem more like an element of design. His solos go very well next to some of composer Stefan Wolpe's music for trumpet. I also feel a link to some of Andrew Hill's music, especially Point of Departure. Not enough has been written about some music of the early - '60's which availed itself of some of the innovations of Free Jazz while continuing to make a music extremely linked to a set harmonic scheme. This is a classic of that music.

Desert Island Pick.......2005-11-27

If I had to pick a handful of jazz recordings to take to a desert island, this would certainly be one of them.

The conception, the originality, the arrangements, the choice of sidemen, the lyricism, the quality of the solos--it's all there.

Plus astounishing fidelity!

I had the original LP when it first came out in 1961. Though I hadn't heard it in many years, when it was reissued on CD, I bought it and have not stopped listened to it. It is like a reunion with one of your oldest and dearest friends whom you haven't seen in many years.

Even though Booker's life, like his colleague, Eric Dolphy, was tragically short, he demonstrated a genius and a maturity far beyond his years.

To me Booker Little is one of the elite trumpeters in jazz history and a beautiful person.

If you listen closely to the way he constructs his tunes, with short episodes,punctuated by contrasting choruses, you will recognize the considerable influence Booker's music had on Dave Douglas.

But as much as I admire and enjoy Dave Douglas, he is a mere mortal compared to the inspired Booker Little.

Get this album while it is still available. You won't regret it.

One final thought: Max Roach is truly unbelievable on this date!

Just might be Booker's best.......2003-04-24

The tragically short lived Booker Little (died of kidney failure on October 5, 1961, at the age of 23) on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Eric Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute, Don Friedman on piano, Ron Carter plays bass on four tracks, while Art Davis supplies bass for the remaining three, Max Roach drums, and provides, tympani, and vibes.
Upbeat and sunny pieces alternate with slower and dreamier, even slightly melancholic tracks.
I've listened to this album almost more than any other jazz release I own, and I've yet to tire of it.
I was listening to "Man of Words" when I got the news that one of my oldest and best childhood friends had passed away, I can't imagine a more appropriate piece of music for such an experience.
Buy this today if you like jazz at all.

Why has there no reissue of Booker Little's masterpiece?.......2001-04-23

Out Front is an important CD. But his best work is another recording under Time Records titled 'Booker Little' which is not readily available. I have been amazed and disappointed that there has been no reissue of one of the most important albums of the post-Parker, post-Clifford Brown era. This album which was Booker's first album as a leader was recorded on April 13, 1960, eleven days after his 21st birthday. It is an astoundingly beautiful recording using the highest quality multi-channel technology available at the time. It was part of the Series 2000 recordings issued by Time Records with liner notes by Nat Hentoff. It featured Tommy Flanagan, Scott La Faro, and Roy Haynes (with Wynton Kelly sitting in on one tune). If you are a fan of "Bee Tee" (his nickname since childhood), or if you just want to hear a profound trumpet album, having few equals, then you must somehow get this recording. Again, however, I am not sure this is possible since I know of no readily available reissue. I have owned this album since I was a teenager and I have played it over the years for fellow aficionados of the music. Everyone who has heard the work has confirmed this is a masterpiece; and during the 60s and 70s it attained legendary status among serious collectors. For those interested in the important work of Scott La Faro (Bill Evans bassist), this album is essential -- his work here is a virtual tour de force of acoustic bass. I hope other jazz collectors will join me in encouraging whoever owns and controls the Time tapes and catalog to reissue this great work. The album is exceptionally tight and harmonically interesting. Rarely have four musicians played so much in unison, with so much clarity and clean, inspired musicianship.

Truly "Out Front".......2000-11-05

Booker Little's "Out Front" is truly one of the great early recordings of the New Jazz. Recorded over two sessions in the spring of 1961 for jazz writer and critic Nat Hentoff's Candid label, "Out Front" features some of the best jazz musicians of the day -- Eric Dolphy, Julian Priester, Ron Carter and Max Roach. (Additionally, Art Davis replaces Carter on three tracks and Don Friedman plays piano.) These are names that would become synonymous with the experimental jazz innovations of the 60s. Of the numerous factors that contribute to this being a classic album, Little's creative compositions and impeccable arrangements are the most remarkable. The combination of Dolphy, Little and Priester produced bright, energetic melodies that are hauntingly evocative. Unfortunately, Little would die in just a few short months. And it's tragically ironic that just as Little was shedding the inevitable Clifford Brown comparisons, Little too would die too young and too soon. "Out Front" gives us a glimpse at what could have been, yet thankfully it is a masterpiece in its own right to relish.

Average customer rating: Lots of soloing Hot hot hot ! Absolutely five stars! Note to the musically critical thinker: awesome stuff

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little Manufacturer: Ojc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 Memorial Album: Recorded Live At The Five Spot Last Date Out to Lunch Far Cry ASIN: B000000Y7P Release Date: 1994-03-15

Tracks:

1. Fire Waltz
2. Bee Vamp
3. The Prophet
4. Bee Vamp (Alternate Take)

Amazon.com

If you want to get a taste of Eric Dolphy live then this is the set to get. Certainly the Coltrane Village Vanguard sessions featuring Dolphy are masterpieces; however, he has more room to blow in this setting. Dolphy, for all his unique and decidedly individual style, was a remarkably emphatic player. His associations with Coltrane and Charles Mingus, and here with Mal Waldron, are truly special instances of jazz players complimenting and enriching each other's playing. Dolphy and Waldron are joined here by Booker Little, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell. This is a band of masters on a hot night. It's joyous listening. --Michael Monhart

Customer Reviews:

Lots of soloing.......2007-06-28

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

Hot hot hot !.......2005-05-31

One of the finest albums of bebop Jazz. Encapsulates the excitement of a live performance. A good representation of the genius of Dolphy.
A winner.

Absolutely five stars!.......2004-12-07

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

Note to the musically critical thinker:.......2003-01-09

The Five Spot itself has a long tradition of hosting incredible names in music. The ambiance as i am sure we all could imagine was quite amazing to inspire the musicians it did as it did. But the fact of the matter remains that the recording acoustics of the venue were not as good as the actual place itself. Consequently some of the recordings didn't turn out as good that are from there. Anyone truly interested in music will just glance at this fact briefly and move along to buying the album. That is exatly what I did! Thanks to the insight however on Mal Waldron's accompanyment. That was very useful information.

also: I own and have heard several Five Spot albums, and some of them are of lesser quality, but the music sreams for attention! One of these is John Coltrane Live at the Five Spot, a tricky one to find and the recording quality is awful but is worth it in every way.

awesome stuff.......2002-07-04

This CD is a must have for anyone interested in free jazz. Booker Little plays with such ingenuity!

Average customer rating: Early 1960s Classic Dolphy In All His Glory One of Dolphy's best Two young masters great, but could be better

Far Cry Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little Manufacturer: Ojc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 The Quest Memorial Album: Recorded Live At The Five Spot Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 Out There ASIN: B000000YMC Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

1. Mrs. Parker Of K.C. (Bird's Mother)
2. Ode To Charlie Parker
3. Far
4. Miss Ann
5. Left Alone
6. Tenderly
7. It's Magic
8. Serene

Customer Reviews:

Early 1960s Classic.......2007-06-05

This creative set of "advanced hard-bop" (if this music can be characterized) has become one of my favorite jazz albums from the early 1960s (and I have many from this era). FAR CRY is mellower and more accessible than Dolphy's better known OUT TO LUNCH, recorded a few years later. It features the multi-talented Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute; Booker Little, one of my all-time favorite trumpeters; and a great rhythm section of Jaki Byard (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums). Dolphy and Little were a truly unique and wonderful front line pair. The disc includes 8 great songs--and no alternate takes! I am enjoying this CD more with each listen. The flute and trumpet harmonies on "Ode to Charlie Parker" are wonderful. Haynes' percussion is splendid throughout. An earlier reviewer suggested that the songs didn't really fit well together; personally, I don't find this a problem and enjoy the variety and contrasts on this album.

If you can find one (currently there are still a few available from Amazon 3rd-party sources), I heartily recommend the 20-Bit K2 remastered version. The older OJC (Original Jazz Classics) disc is the one listed here.

Dolphy In All His Glory.......2006-06-05

Even Charles Mingus, a tough critic of just about everything, couldn't find anything nasty to say about Eric Dolphy, referring to him as a saint, not just as a player but as a man. Dolphy was known to be incredibly dedicated; he would frequently disappear at parties only to be found practicing one horn or another on a fire escape or other private place. His early, and completely avoidable death, has added even more shine to his halo. Today he holds a well-earned seat in the pantheon of great ones likes Coltrane, Bird, Young, and Hawkins. However, his residence there is more the result of his astonishing technical virtuosity than his contribution to moving the music forward.

Dolphy could play anything with keypads, he had an almost Faustian brilliance. But the dirty little secret about Dolphy is that often he was doing nothing more than running up and down the stairs. One might marvel at his ability without being moved. His famous rendition of God Bless The Child, on bass clarinet, is only the most blatant example of this syndrome. He touches the melody as a child touches base when playing tag, runs up and down the stairs for a few minutes, touches base again, and repeats the cycle.

When he is at his very best is when he's most lyrical, and in Far Cry he really delivers the goods. The early tracks cook; providing lots of room for Booker Little to dazzle with his own technical prowess. Then, mysteriously, it's almost as if Booker Little leaves the building and Dolphy takes center stage. From there on out, you are treated to some of the most exquisite Dolphy solos ever recorded. The flute playing is especially select, (he has no rival when it comes to jazz flute), but the alto on Tenderly is astounding and the bass clarinet on It's Magic, while overdone, showcases Dolphy's command of the instrument and ability to stretch a melody brilliantly without abandoning it. Collecting Dolphy is a hit or miss proposition, he recorded a lot and there is inconsistency in both the material and performances. Here there is only gold. Highly recommended.

One of Dolphy's best.......2002-07-05

This is Dolphy at his best with up-beat energy that blows away the dolldrums. Listeners should immediately grasp its optimistic searching outlook.

Bird's Mother is wonderfully angular with great humor. The flute on Left Alone is as bluesy as a flute can be. What a wonderful tribute to the great Billie Holiday, who as we know sang nothing but the Truth.

Booker Little is one of the tragic losses that jazz endured, an immensly talented trumpet player who died in his early 20s. You can hear some of his best work here and he was the perfect horn player to work with Dolphy. And unfortunately, Dolphy was to die tragically a few years later.

Dolphy was a positive spirit that is always valuable when represented in music.

This is music that no music lover can afford to ignore.

Two young masters.......2001-11-15

This is the first of several collaborations between Eric Dolphy & the fated trumpeter Booker Little; it was recorded in December 1960, though it was oddly released only belatedly--in fact, it has a later catalogue number than the Five Spot recordings from July 1961. (The other date recorded by Dolphy & Little was _Out Front_, recorded under Little's name for a different label, Candid.) Listening to it again, I find it hard not to meditate a bit on Dolphy's ill-starred career. He was certainly recording at a ferocious pace in 1960-61, both as a leader & sideman--this is the best-documented period of his career, aside from the 1964 concert recordings with Mingus--& yet it's hard not to feel that Dolphy never really got a chance to create a music commensurate with his talent. He was a great _soloist_: but unlike Coltrane or Coleman, he never really got the chance to develop his music as a group music. Every disc of his has completely different personnel, often containing both bop players like Haynes & Persip & nascent radicals & innovators like Little, Carter, Byard &c. (in this Dolphy's output is comparable to early Charlie Parker discs, which mixed boppers with swing-era players). Prestige was clearly not an ideal base for his talents: they were perhaps hoping to get music in the vein of the extremely popular Chico Hamilton band, of which Dolphy was an alumnus, not a player whose inclinations were to the increasingly radical experiments of the 1960s avantgarde. Dolphy's most unconstrained work on Prestige was on the live Five Spot albums; after he was dropped by the label, he recorded almost nothing under his own leadership, but did turn out his most fully-achieved album at Blue Note (_Out to Lunch_, his most experimental album) & two other interesting dates for United Artists, which are again much more robustly experimental than any of his Prestige discs. As the oeuvre stands, it is as frustratingly but enticingly incomplete as Bix Beiderbecke's or Herbie Nichols': what remains is essential & terrific music, but it could have been much more.

Anyway, back to _Far Cry_. It's an album that's oddly organized, as it's split in three (slightly overlapping) sections. Tracks 1-3 are a loose meditation on the legacy of Charlie Parker, beginning with two Byard originals, a blues called "Mrs. Parker of K.C. (Bird's Mother)" (on which Dolphy plays bass clarinet) & the ballad "Ode to Charlie Parker" (flute). Both tracks are if anything features for the brilliant trumpet of Booker Little, who gets the most solo space. The 3rd track is "Far Cry", which Dolphy in the liner notes says is a summing up of Parker's legacy & how it stood 4 years after his death. This is a brisk, angular line played on alto--curiously it's exactly the same theme as "Out There", the title track of his previous Prestige LP. Perhaps he was dissatisfied with the first version?

"Far Cry" & "Miss Ann" are closely related, as slashing uptempo numbers for alto sax, & thus might be considered the 2nd part of the album. At this point the album takes a mysterious left turn: Booker Little, who up to this point has been if anything more prominent than Dolphy, doesn't play on the rest of the album, which is turned over to three standards. "Left Alone" is given a lovely flute rendition, & "It's Magic" is given a rather exaggerated, almost satirical reading on bass clarinet. The masterpiece here--& what really pushes this album into the front rank of the Dolphy canon--is "Tenderly", a 4-minute acappella alto-saxophone improvisation. It is not given a conventional chords-based reading, but instead treated almost like a classical cadenza: Dolphy hews fairly closely to the melody, but it is stated only in tiny fragments which open up into soaring arpeggios, loops & trills. This is one of the key tracks of the 1960s. I still find it tremendously moving after years of listening.

The CD reissue also includes a version of Dolphy's blues "Serene" (again, this was recorded earlier for Prestige, suggesting Dolphy was not happy with the previously released version). It's as strong as anything on the original album, & I don't know why it was left off the first time around.

great, but could be better.......2001-03-25

Nearly every song on this album is of 5 star caliber, but they don't seem to fit together very well. They don't seem to have any kind of connection with each other. The rhythm section is pretty good, but they are rather conservative on this album. As far as eric and booker go, this album contains some of their most wonderful playing. I think that a good way to describe eric's playing is exclamatory. It sounds like he is speaking through the horn. Sometimes it sounds almost as if he is inhaling through the horn rather than blowing. Little's blowing sounds somehow more sophisticated and intelligent than most trumpeters. All of the compositions are great. I am especially fond of "far cry" and the solo "tenderly." It's a shame that they both had to die so young.

Average customer rating: Booker and Scott

Booker Little Booker Little Manufacturer: Stereo Time ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Out Front Booker Little 4 and Max Roach Complete Recordings New York Sessions Booker Little and Friend ASIN: B0000TWM3E Release Date: 2003-11-04

Tracks:

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

Album Description

French release featuring six tracks recorded in New York City, April 13th & 15th, 1960. Stereo Time. Tommy Flanagan plays piano. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Booker and Scott .......2007-03-28

This is Booker Little's 2nd album as a leader, recorded in April 1960 at age 22, about 1 ½ years before his death. It features the great bassist Scott LaFaro, who would also die the following year, a few days after his classic recordings with Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard. Rounding out the quartet are pianists Tommy Flannagan (on 4 of the 6 songs) and Wynton Kelly (on the other 2 songs), and drummer Roy Haynes. Based on this lineup you might expect a classic, and it is. Little composed 5 of the 6 songs.

This recording sounds different than most other jazz albums in that all (or nearly all) the trumpet and piano comes out of one speaker/side and all the bass comes out of the other side. (The drum sound is split, but mostly with the bass.) This can be almost shocking initially, but sounds fine once your ears adjust. I believe the intent was to provide better separation of the instruments and a more natural effect, and it mostly succeeds. The clarity of the audio is also very good.

Little's tragic fate left us with only a handful of recordings. Three of the finest, OUT FRONT, BOOKER LITTLE AND FRIEND, and this one are all equally great. I'd rather you heard them yourself than try to describe them musically. However, words like harmonically advanced, lyrical, melancholic, and beautiful have all been used to describe this music. Of course this one (BOOKER LITTLE) features trumpet and bass, while the others feature trumpet with reeds and trombone. When I listen to these albums (and each is unique), I get a sense that I'm hearing something substantial, and am often deeply moved.

Average customer rating: These guys can play. I can't write much of a review Sharp, lyrical free jazz More music from the legendary live date. absolute classic!

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little Manufacturer: Ojc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 Memorial Album: Recorded Live At The Five Spot Last Date The Quest Far Cry ASIN: B000000YDZ Release Date: 1994-03-15

Tracks:

1. Aggression
2. Like Someone In Love

Album Description

Digitally remastered using K2 bit technology, this is a Japanese reissue of the great jazz musician's 1961 album for the Prestige label in a miniaturized LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only. Dolphy, known for his playing of the flute, clarinet

Album Details

Japanese Version Featuring Digital K2 20Bit Mastering.

Customer Reviews:

These guys can play. I can't write much of a review.......2005-12-21

This is good but having the selections (without the alternate takes) from the two volumes on one disc would have been better.

Sharp, lyrical free jazz.......2002-09-20

I bought this back in 1978, when I was 16, and it still remains one of my favorite disks, even over "Out To Lunch" or "Berlin Concerts". Dolphy's bass clarinet is a revelation-- I can't add much to the other reviewers, they are spot on, but I will say that he can wring some amazing emotions out of the unwieldy beast. He can go from sweetly lyrical to jarringly paranoid in only a few bars.

More music from the legendary live date........2000-08-23

This cd is the second of three that chronicles Eric Dolphy's legendary concert recorded in 1961 at New york's Five Spot cafe. Dolphy' clarinet and flute lead Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, Eddie Blackwell on drums, and the near forgotten trumpet great Booker Little. If the fact this disc only has two tracks makes you hesitant to buy it, fear not both tracks are deep and reward multiple listenings. Little's "Aggression" opens the disc, and is exceptional because it is one of the few times on record when Dolphy does not outshine the other soloists. Little takes the first solo, and simply burns. His brilliant faculty and fertile imagination are on full display as he manages to wrend sounds and effects rarely hear from a trumpet, all the while keeping his musical acrobatics logical and his tone clear and bright. Dolphy follows with his distinctive bass clarinet. His solos on the seemingly awkward solo instrument are always among his most inventive and interesting. Keeping with this standard Dolphy dives into a burbling squealing exploration of the instrument's lower register. Waldron follows with a solo seemingly sparked by Dolphy and Little. His left hand laying down block chords under his nimble right hand runs. Richard Davis shows off his awesome technique by performing one of the clearest, most flawless, uptempo bass solos I have ever heard. Eddie Blackwell finishes the soloing with an extended rapid fire burst of tight snare rolls and bombed out tom fills. Easily one of the highlights of the entire live set. Dolphy switches to his flute for the second and last of the disc's extended works, the slower and somewhat more convetional standard, "Like Someone In Love". For his solo, Dolphy ranges from puckish to lyrical to more avante garde overblowing and and percussive tone exploration. Little adopts a more melancholy laidback tone and constructs a soulful, lyrical solo. Waldron swings into a laidback blues flavored solo colored by switches in tempo in its second half. Davis has another dexterous, expressive solo he truly is one of the masters of the jazz bass solo. This music is not only important as a document of one of Jazz's greatest live performances, but because both Little and Dolphy would pass away within the next three years, Little three months after this date at 23. I recommend buying vol. 1 first, this cd and the final collection "Memorial Album" last, but the music stands alone and sounds fresh almost fourty years later. Highly recommened music.

absolute classic!.......1999-11-19

This is a great CD. Aggression is 16 minutes long and has great soloing from everyone. Richard Davis' walking bass solo is so fast it's amazing. Like Someone in Love is nearly 20 minutes long and some of the most expressive jazz I've heard. Eric's flute is contrasted beautifully with Booker's trumpet. Only two songs, you say? Yeah, but each song is an improvised symphony in terms of emotional content. Get this CD and feel the music!

Average customer rating: Extra material This album Smokes! Essential early sixties Dolphy

Memorial Album: Recorded Live At The Five Spot Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little Manufacturer: Ojc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 Far Cry The Quest Last Date ASIN: B000000YJP Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

1. Number Eight (Potsa Lotsa)
2. Booker's Waltz

Customer Reviews:

Extra material.......2007-03-26

While anything with Dolphy is worth having in my opinion, this CD contains a couple of extra songs that were left off the Live at the Five Spot sessions. The rhythm section is very prominent in the 2 longs songs. CD only about 30 to 35 minutes. Would have been much better if these were packaged with one of the original CDs, which weren't overly song.

This album Smokes!.......2006-03-24

Two songs, but killer performances by all members. Booker's Waltz has 3 of the most memorable solos I've ever heard.

Essential early sixties Dolphy.......2000-06-16

The Memorial Album, although titled differently, was recorded the same night at the Five Spot club as Dolphy's other two "Live at the Five Spot" albums. Those who have either of the other two albums from that night will find this album essential. The quintet that Dolphy has assembled, although not nearly as famous as the Coltrane or Davis bands from the sixties, works wonderfully together. The rhythm section of Richard Davis, Ed Blackwell, and Mal Waldron work together beautifully, even if without show. Davis has always been a rather reserved yet lyrical bassist and his style is well shown here. Waldron tends to build solos around simple chordal patterns and then play with different harmonic sequences and rhythmic changes around those patterns. His playing is quite like on his own album of the same time "The Quest," although without the darkness of tone. Here, he is given ample free space and provides a nice finish to the solos of Little and Dolphy. Booker Little, in his early twenties, was a rising star at the time of the recording. He plays with both deft technique and mature confidence and provides a nice counterpart to the virtuoso Dolphy. Dolphy shows the same great technique as he did with COltrane at about the same. He seems well suited to this setting and takes quite long solos, always building around a theme while also showcasing his wondrous talents. While not as avant guard as some of his later recording, this certianly show the talent that he was. Overall, this is a great CD that should on the shelf of any Dolphy fan. Little died soon after this recording and so it is one of the select few out there with him on it. The only negative of the CD is that it has very poor sound quality. However, this is but a small criticism for an otherwise first rate album.

Average customer rating: Promising Post-Bop Trumpet Statement A fine debut Little's first as a leader. Booker Little Is Good

Booker Little 4 and Max Roach Booker Little Manufacturer: Blue Note Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Blue Note Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Modern Post Bop | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Out Front Booker Little and Friend Booker Little Space Book New York Sessions ASIN: B000005HDM Release Date: 1991-06-18

Tracks:

1. Milestones
2. Sweet And Lonely
3. Rounder's Mood
4. Dungeon Waltz
5. Jewel's Tempo
6. Moonlight Becomes You
7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be - George Coleman
8. Blue 'N Boogie - George Coleman

Customer Reviews:

Promising Post-Bop Trumpet Statement.......2007-01-04

The recorded output of Booker Little was painfully small. This album was his first real statement as a seesion leader. This CD actually consists of 2 separate sessions; the October '58 session which includes most of the album, and 2 tracks from a group session in '58 fronted by altoist Frank Strozier. While these two tracks give us some additional Booker to appreciate, the added bonus is seldom-heard trumpeter Louis Smith. The real core of this CD is the 6 beautiful tracks by Booker, George Coleman, Tommy Flanagan, Art Taylor, and Max Roach. While Booker undoubtedly heard Clifford Brown and Miles Davis, he forged something new and different from those two influences. He really was one of the pioneers of the post Clifford Brown style. His playing on the ballad "Moonlight Becomes You" takes that rather tired tune into another dimension of emotion. Booker at his best had a very vulnerable and melancholy core to his playing that could make you cry. You can hear it on this session, and wonder where it might have ultimately taken him. Highly Recommended!

A fine debut.......2002-04-09

This was Booker Little's first album as a leader. It was recorded the month after Max Roach's _Deeds Not Words_, & in fact the personnel between the two discs is the same except for the replacement of tubaist Ray Draper with pianist Tommy Flanagan, which gives this disc a more straightforward jazz-quintet sound, though Roach's extremely prominent, bouncing drumming does indeed suggest that this is as much his disc as Little's (as does his separate billing on the cover). It's a very good album, though Little is still maturing; there are some interesting if rather self-consciously "advanced" compositions with highly elaborate chord-changes in the 1950s hardbop manner. The tracks I really like most are the two standards, "Sweet and Lovely" (midtempo) & "Moonlight Becomes You" (ballad). These are the tracks where Flanagan's presence is very useful; on the uptempo tracks Roach's hyperkinetic drumming tends to push the piano out of the way. "Milestones" (the 1st of the two Miles Davis compositions of that name) is also rather good, & serve as an interesting stylistic point of comparison, though Little's playing owes much more to his predecessor Clifford Brown than to Davis.

The album is expanded here by two long studio jams on standards featuring a very large band (Little & Horace Silver's trumpeter Louis Smith; Coleman & Frank Strozier; Phineas Newborn on piano; Calvin Newborn on guitar; Jamil Nasser on bass & Charles Crosby on drums). They are pleasant enough, though Little only has brief solos on each of them.

A good album, but hardly one to compare with Little's work of 1960-61. There are a few hints of Little's later, more experimental work here, in some unusual note choices & his idiosyncratic tone, but mostly this is good, on-the-ball hard bop.

[PS: one amusing feature of this album are the rather gaseous liner notes by Jon Hendricks. Though printed as prose, they are in fact doggerel rhymed couplets.]

Little's first as a leader........2001-03-05

The music presented here features trumpeter Booker Little at the beginning of his tragically short carreer. The first 6 tracks have Booker backed by George Coleman on tenor, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Art Davis on bass, and as the title would suggest, Max Roach on drums. A hard bopper with an avant garde imagination, Booker shines on every track on this disc. Only twenty when this album was cut, Booker's tone is bright, brassy, and confident. Coleman, Flanagan, Davis, and Roach all turn in fine performances, but it is Little who is the star. The last two tracks are from a jam session from a different date featuring a tender Ellington composition and a bop standard . The personnel adds Louis Smith on trumpet, Frank Stozier on alto, Calvin Newborn on guitar, With Coleman remaining in the tenor chair. Rounding out the rhythm section are the uncomprable Phineas Newborn on piano, Jamil Nasser on bass, and Charles Crosby on drums. This is a fine set of forward looking hard bop filled with outstanding performances, and since Little's recording career spanned all of three years, he passed away in 1961 at 23, everything he cut is vital and recommended.

Booker Little Is Good.......2000-10-20

Great CD. Nice selections. Booker is one of the great trumpet players of all time. He should be up there with Clifford Brown and maybe even Miles.

great CD.

Average customer rating: Timeless Early '60s Classic, in 20-Bit

Far Cry (20 Bit Mastering) Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little Manufacturer: Prestige ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Caravan (20 Bit Mastering) Out There My Fair Lady (20 Bit Mastering) Chet Baker in New York (20 Bit Mastering) Poll Winners (20 Bit Mastering) ASIN: B00006EXD8 Release Date: 2002-08-20

Tracks:

1. Mrs. Parker of K.C. (Bird's Mother)
2. Ode to Charlie Parker
3. Far Cry
4. Miss Ann
5. Left Alone
6. Tenderly
7. It's Magic
8. Serene [*]

Customer Reviews:

Timeless Early '60s Classic, in 20-Bit .......2007-05-30

This creative set of "advanced hard-bop" (if this music can be characterized) has become one of my favorite jazz albums from the early 1960s (and I have many from this era). FAR CRY is mellower and more accessible than Dolphy's better known OUT TO LUNCH, recorded a few years later. It features the multi-talented Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute; Booker Little, one of my all-time favorite trumpeters; and a great rhythm section of Jaki Byard (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums). Dolphy and Little were a truly unique and wonderful front line pair. This disc includes 8 great songs--and no alternate takes! I am enjoying it more with each listen. The flute and trumpet harmonies on "Ode to Charlie Parker" are wonderful. Haynes' percussion is splendid throughout.

I heartily recommend grabbing one of these JVC 20-Bit K2 re-mastered versions (while they last). The engineers are listed as Shigeo Miyamoto and Tamaki Beck. There is a whole series of these, which are re-issues of the older OJC (Original Jazz Classics) series. I own at least 20 of them and am very pleased with the audio quality (clear, full, natural-sounding) on each.

Average customer rating:

New York Sessions Booker Little Manufacturer: Lonehill Jazz Spain ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Booker Little Booker Little 4 and Max Roach Out Front Complete Recordings Booker Little and Friend ASIN: B0001YNKGQ Release Date: 2004-06-28

Tracks:

1. Scoochie - Booker Ervin, Booker Little
2. Cycles - Booker Ervin, Booker Little
3. Stardust - Booker Ervin, Booker Little
4. Confined Few - Booker Ervin, Booker Little
5. Blues de Tambour - Booker Ervin, Booker Little
6. Witch Fire - Booker Little
7. Things Ain't What They Used to Be - Booker Little
8. Blue 'N' Boogie - Booker Little
9. After Hours [*] - Booker Little

Average customer rating: Classic music but sound could probably be better

Complete Recordings Booker Little , and George Coleman Manufacturer: Lone Hill Jazz ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Out Front Booker Little New York Sessions Memorial Album: Recorded Live At The Five Spot Booker Little 4 and Max Roach ASIN: B0007Q189O Release Date: 2005-02-21

Tracks:

1. Victory and Sorrow
2. Forward Flight
3. Looking Ahead
4. If I Should Lose You
5. Calling Softly
6. Booker's Blues
7. Matilde
8. Milestones - George Coleman, Booker Little
9. Sweet and Lovely
10. Rouner's Mood
11. Dungeon Waltz
12. Jewel's Tempo
13. Moonlight Becomes You

Album Details

This Exceptional Release features Booker Little's Complete Recorded Discography as a Leader with Tenor Saxophone Virtuoso George Coleman. The October 1958 Album Booker Little Four and Max Roach and September 1961 Release Booker Little and Friend Mark the Trumpeter's Recording Debut as a Leader and his Final Album Respectively. The Listener is Thus Afforded Here the Rare Opportunity to Chart the Development of One of Jazz's Greatest Instrumentalists on One Single CD. It is Interesting to Note Booker Little's Evolution as Both a Composer and Improviser by Comparing his First Album Booker Little Four and Max Roach with his Last, Booker Little and Friend. While the Former Album is Excellent, the Latter Gives Testimony to the Fact that Little's Playing Had Arrived at a New Plateau. The Exquisite Compositions "Victory and Sorrow", "Looking Ahead" and "Matilde" also Show Just How Far the Young Trumpeter Had Grown as a Writer.

Customer Reviews:

Classic music but sound could probably be better .......2007-02-10

No question this CD is a great value and well worth picking up if you like this genre. I believe it includes Little's first and last albums. (He only made 4 or 5 records before his tragic death from a rare disease.) Booker Little was an outstanding musician and composer, and these recordings (especially his last album, which comprises the first half of this CD) are of classic status in modern jazz. I was somewhat disappointed in the sound quality of this import CD--expected better in this day and age. Little's "Out Front" CD has better sound.

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