Booker Little & Friend

Booker Little & Friend

When Booker Little died in 1963, he was just 23 years old, but he was already far more than a "promising" talent, having made ground-breaking records with Max Roach and Eric Dolphy, including <I>At the Five Spot</I>. His dark-hued, expressive trumpet sound, twisting legato Lines, and fascination with half-valves and quarter-tones marked him as an original, and his influence has appeared in other trumpeters as diverse as Kenny Wheeler, Dave Douglas, and Russell Gunn. His compositions--marked by contrasting sections and the frequent use of close-voiced horns and dissonances to magnify the sound of a small band--have been as influential as his trumpet playing.<p> Little led four sessions in his brief career and this, his last, is among the most impressive. He leads a sextet here, as he had on the earlier <I>Out Front</I>, and it's a fine vehicle for his compositions, with trumpet leads often voiced against the backdrop of George Coleman's tenor and Julian Priester's trombone. "Victory and Sorrow" immediately demonstrates Little's interest in a mix of complex moods and advanced harmonies, using multiple keys to create a simultaneity of joy and mourning, and it's sometimes startling to hear what is essentially a hard-bop band wind through the coils of a tune like "Calling Softly." Like his compositions, Little's trumpet solos are models of thoughtful construction, filled with sudden rhythmic shifts, flaring runs, and surprising intervals. His rendition of the ballad "If I Should Lose You" is especially moving, filled with subtle shifts in tone and pitch, with stellar support from just the rhythm section of pianist Don Friedman, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Pete LaRoca. Little's innovative ideas and emotional urgency are fused on this session, inseparable parts of some very compelling music. <I>--Stuart Broomer</I>