Booker Little - Booker Little 4 & Max Roach - 180g Vinyl LP

2024

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."

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.