Booker Ervin

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Booker Ervin


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Born = October 31, 1930, Denison, Texas
Died = July 31, 1970, New York City
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Instrument = Tenor saxophone
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Genre = Hard bop
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Associated_acts = Charles Mingus
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Booker Telleferro Ervin II (born October 31, 1930, Denison, Texas; died July 31, 1970, New York CityAllmusic|11:kifyxqt5ld0e] ) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus.

Ervin was born in Denison, Texas and after teaching himself tenor saxophone while in the United States Air Force moved to the Boston area and studied at Berklee College of Music. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing, perhaps inspired by growing up in the south.

He moved to New York to join Horace Parlan's quartet, with whom he recorded "Up & Down" and "Happy Frame of Mind" (both for Blue Note Records). Ervin worked with Charles Mingus from 1956 to 1963, appearing on "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on the album "Mingus Ah Um" and "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" on "Blues and Roots", as well as "Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus". During the 1960s Ervin also led his own quartet, recording for Prestige Records with ex-Mingus associate pianist Jaki Byard along with bassist Richard Davis and Alan Dawson on drums. Ervin later recorded for Blue Note Records, and played with pianist Randy Weston.

He died of kidney disease in 1970, aged 39. [ [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/artists/ervin.htm All About Jazz - The Definitive Resource for Jazz Music ] ]

Notable recordings

* Booker Little and Booker Ervin "Sounds of the Inner City" (1960) with hard-bop trumpeter Little.
*"The Book Cooks" (1960) Bethlehem Records.
*"That's It" (1961) Candid Records His most highly-regarded records are the nine he made for Prestige Records between 1963 and 1966:
*"Exultation" - (1963) -
*"The Freedom Book" (1963) - with his backing trio of Jaki Byard, Richard Davis and Alan Dawson.
*"The Song Book",
* Booker Ervin and Pony Poindexter "Gumbo" - (1963) - the CD issue has the original "Gumbo" album with New Orleans saxist Poindexter plus a session made by Ervin and organist Larry Young in the same year. Prestige Records.
*"The Blues Book" (1964) - with Carmell Jones, Gildo Mahones, Davis, and Dawson
*"The Space Book" (1964) - also with Byard, Davis and Dawson.
*"Setting The Pace" (1965) - and more with the classic trio -
*"The Trance"
*"Heavy!"

After leaving Prestige in 1966 he moved to Pacific Records and then to Blue Note Records. Records from this era include:
* "Structurally Sound" (1966)
* "The In Between" - (1968) - Blue Note Records
*"Tex Book Tenor" (1968) recorded the same week as 'The In Between", at Rudy Van Gelder's in New Jersey. with Woody Shaw and Kenny Barron. Blue Note Records

Sources

* [http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/ MusicWeb]