Beryl Booker

Infobox musical artist
Name = Beryl Booker


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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Beryl Booker
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Born = June 7, 1922
Died = September 30, 1978
Origin = flagicon|USA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
Instrument = Piano
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Genre = Swing
Post bop
Cool jazz
Occupation = Pianist
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Associated_acts = Slam Stewart
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Beryl Booker (June 7, 1922–September 30, 1978) was a swing pianist of the 1950s. Born in 1922 in Philadelphia, she played with Slam Stewart's trio in 1946, and played off and on with him until 1951. She also played accompaniment for Dinah Washington. In early 1952, Booker led a quintet which played Birdland, featuring Don Elliot, Chuck Wayne, Clyde Lombardi and Connie Kay. Recordings with Miles Davis sitting in on the group have been preserved.Schenker, Anatol. Chronological Classics: 1946-1952. Liner Notes] In 1953, she formed her own trio with Bonnie Wetzel and Elaine Leighton. This group toured Europe in 1954 as part of a show entitled "Jazz Club USA", which featured Billie Holiday. After another stint with Dinah Washington in 1959, she slipped into obscurity. In the 1970's she continued to play and record with small groups. [Dahl, Linda. Stormy Wheather. The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen. London 1984; ISBN 0704324776, p. 76

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Discography

*"Girl Met a Piano" (1952) (on EmArcy Records)
*"Beryl Booker Trio" (1954) (on Discovery Records)
*"Don Byas with Beryl Booker" (1954) (on Discovery Records)
*"The Beryl Booker Trio" (1954) (on Cadence Records)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fiftxqt5ldhe~T0 Beryl Booker at the All Music Guide]