Booker Little – Booker Little 4 & Max Roach: Blue Note Tone Poet Series (180g Vinyl LP)

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Booker Little’s Booker Little 4 & Max Roach: Blue Note Tone Poet Reissue Mastered From the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray and Pressed at RTI

Memphis-born trumpeter Booker Little was a bright light of the jazz world who died tragically young at age 23. A prodigiously talented hornman as well as a composer, Little first came to prominence as a member of Max Roach’s band, which he joined in 1956 after the death of Clifford Brown, another trumpet great gone far too soon. Little only made a handful of albums as a leader during his brief career, including his astounding debut, Booker Little 4 & Max Roach, recorded in 1958 for United Artists when he was just 20 years old. The full breadth of Little’s artistry leaps out of the grooves with his brilliant tone, astonishing technique, and inventive lines matched by Roach’s fiery drums throughout this engaging set that also featured George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Art Davis on bass. The album opens with Miles Davis’ “Milestones” and includes the standards “Sweet and Lovely” and a stunning version of “Moonlight Becomes You,” but the album’s centerpiece is the trio of Little originals: “Rounders Mood,” “Dungeon Waltz,” and “Jewel’s Tempo.”

Musicians:
Booker Little – Trumpet
Max Roach – Drums
George Coleman – Tenor Saxophone
Tommy Flanagan – Piano
Art Davis – Bass

Side A:

1. Milestones
2. Sweet And Lovely
3. Rounder’s Mood

Side B:

1. Dungeon Waltz
2. Jewel’s Tempo
3. Moonlight Becomes You