James Booker

James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 - November 8, 1983) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, son and grandson of Baptist ministers, both of whom played the piano. He spent most of his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his father pastored a church. Booker received a saxophone as a gift from his mother, but he demonstrated a stronger interest in the keyboard. He first played organ in his father's churches. Booker also recalled being hit by an ambulance at age nine, and being treated for multiple broken bones; the pianist speculated that the nearly fatal experience and treatment was linked to his later drug use.

After returning to New Orleans in his early adolescence, Booker attended the prestigious Xavier Academy Preparatory School. He learned some elements of his keyboard style from Isidore "Tuts" Washington and Edward Frank. [The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, v. 1, 665.] He played Frédéric Chopin, Erroll Garner, and Liberace, and knew their solos from memory.

Booker made his recording debut in 1954 on the Imperial label, with 'Doin' the Hambone' and 'Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby.' This led to some session work with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and Lloyd Price. [Ibid. 665]

In 1958, Arthur Rubinstein gave a concert in New Orleans. Afterwards, eighteen-year-old Booker was introduced to the concert pianist and played several tunes for him. Rubinstein was astonished, saying "I could never play that... never at that tempo." (The Times-Picayune, 1958)

After recording a few other singles, he enrolled as an undergraduate in Southern University's music department. In 1960, Booker's 'Gonzo' reached number 3 on the 'R&B' charts, followed by some moderately successful singles. In the 60's, he turned to drugs, and in 1970 served a brief sentence in Angola for possession.

Booker was a diverse pianist who explored a variety of popular songs, ranging from jazz standards to rock. Rather than playing tunes in their original idioms, he integrated this repertoire into a virtuosic style that combined elements of blues, boogie-woogie, gospel, stride, latin, and classical piano. An early innovator of rock and roll piano, he created sophisticated rhythmic structures combining both hands, while his virtuosity can be compared to stride and pianists Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. Yet his rendition of standards has influenced many straight ahead jazz pianists. Booker's left hand used various polished blues basses, repeated walk-ups, and unusual stride patterns, both in straight and shuffle rhythms. He also played entire chords in steady groups, divided by a lower note in the bassline. He was noted for his abilities on the organ, and examples of his organ playing can be found on the album "United Our Thing Will Stand". Booker also had a powerful, wide-ranged singing voice. Professor Longhair and Ray Charles were among his important influences.

In 1973 Booker recorded The Lost Paramount Tapes at Paramount Studios in Hollywood with members of the Dr. John band. This album was produced by former Sweathog (band) bassist, David L. Johnson and Daniel J. Moore. The CD was heralded at Booker's best recorded performance.

Booker's performance at the 1975 Jazz and Heritage Festival earned him a recording contract with Island Records.His album with Island, "Junco Partners", was produced by Joe Boyd, who had previously recorded Booker on sessions for the Muldaurs' records. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:f9fwxqq5ld0e~T4 All Music Guide - James Booker credits] ]

During 1976 he played and toured with the Jerry Garcia Band.

Booker recorded a number of albums while touring Europe in 1977 including "New Orleans Piano Wizard: Live!", which was recorded at his performance in the "Boogie Woogie and Ragtime Piano Contest" in Zurich, Switzerland This album won the Grand Prix du Disque for Jazz. He played at the Nice and Montreux Jazz Festivals in 1978. Fourteen years later a recording in Leipzig from this tour would become the last ever record to be produced in the former GDR. It was entitled "Let's Make A Better World!".

From 1977 to 1982 he was the house pianist at the Maple Leaf Bar in the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans. Recordings during this time made by John Parsons were released as "Spider on the Keys" and "Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah" [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=5177 James Booker at All About Jazz ] ] .

His last commercial audio recording, "Classified", was made in 1982 — in four hours according to the producer, Scott Billington.

At the end of October, 1983, an inebriated Booker performed a six-and-a-half-minute improvisation, "Seagram's Jam," for "All Alone with the Blues", a film by Jim Gabour. He died ten days later, November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair, waiting to be seen at the emergency room at New Orleans Charity Hospital. The cause of death, per autopsy, was liver failure. (Orleans Parish Coroner's Death Certificate). His death was widely mourned by music lovers, but was unsurprising to those who were aware of his life-long history of serious drug abuse and chronic alcoholism.

Harry Connick Jr., a student and close friend of Booker, is probably his most renowned disciple. Connick, Henry Butler, and Dr. John, among others, have recorded songs with titles and musical styles referencing Booker.

Transcriptions by Joshua Paxton of Booker's playing are available in "The James Booker Collection" and "New Orleans Piano Legends", both published by The Hal Leonard Corporation.

"Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker" is a 2003 release consisting of a compilation of his songs performed by various pianists.

The latest Booker album, released in June 2007, is "Manchester '77", which consists of a live performance recorded in October 1977 at The Lake Hotel, Belle Vue, Manchester with Norman Beaker on guitar.

Discography

(Title, Release Date: Record Label)

"Junco Partner", 1976: Island, 1993: Hannibal (re-issue)
"The Piano Prince Of New Orleans", 1976: Aves
"Blues & Ragtime From New Orleans", 1976: Aves
"New Orleans Piano Wizard: Live!", 1977: Gold, 1983: Rounder (re-issue)
"Classified", 1982: Demon, 1993: Rounder (re-issue)
"King of New Orleans Keyboard Vol. I & II", 1984-1985: JSP, 2005: JSP (re-issue)
"Mr. Mystery", 1984: Sundown
"Let's Make A Better World!", 1991: Amiga
"Resurrection Of The Bayou Maharajah", 1993: Rounder
"Spiders On The Keys", 1993: Rounder
"The Lost Paramount Tapes", 1995: DJM
"More Than All The 45's", 1996: Night Train International
"New Orleans Keyboard King", 1996: Orbis
"Live At Montreux", 1997: Montreux Sounds
"United Our Thing Will Stand", 2000: Night Train International
"A Taste Of Honey", 2000: Night Train International
"Manchester '77", 2007: Document

(Albums listed are with James Booker as main artist. For a complete discography which includes Booker's other album credits, see "External Links".)

Quotes

"I'm better than all of 'em."

"Music is a mysterious art... and people that's really good at it... they get a little taste of the mysterious... sometimes mysticism, too. In fact, all of the time they have mystical, mysterious attributes, but it's whether or not they're aware of it that's important."

- James Booker

References

External links

* [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/23/PKGGGI6B3S1.DTL "Booker's Mad Muse", April 23, 2006] at the San Francisco Chronicle
* [http://www.offbeat.com/artman/publish/article_571.shtml "Booker: A Pianist's Perspective", by Joshua Paxton]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6877669 "Making The Insipid Sublime", January 17, 2007] at NPR
* [http://andresschulz.com/web/images/beat-street-01-2004.pdf Beat Street Magazine 2004 James Booker Special]
* [http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_30/rooster.html "Maharajahs in the Mist" from Blues Access Summer, 1997]
* [http://www.cascadeblues.org/History/JamesBooker.htm James Booker Bio from "Blues Notes", February, 2002]
* [http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_scott_billington/ Producer Scott Billington on Booker]
* [http://www.rickieleejones.com/friends/booker.htm Singer Rickie Lee Jones on Booker]
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/booker.htm Illustrated James Booker Discography]
* [http://www.thebestofwebsite.com/Bands/Grateful_Dead/Misc/Garcia_Booker.htm Jerry Garcia & James Booker Sessions Info]
* [http://www.harrietblum.com/musicians.html Harriet Blum's Original Booker Photos]
* [http://www.document-records.com/pod/James-Booker-Podcast.mp3 Document Records James Booker Podcast]