Booker Ervin
Encyclopedia
Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – July 31, 1970) was an American 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. Some thought his style was influenced by John Coltrane
, but it is thought they developed their styles independently, and beyond some sheets of sounds similarities, they were distinctively different.
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 New York City
in 1970, aged 39.
With Teddy Charles
With Andrew Hill
With Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan
With Charles Mingus
With Horace Parlan
With Don Patterson
With Mal Waldron
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
.
Ervin was born in Denison, Texas
Denison, Texas
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have grown to 24,127 in 2009. Denison is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and after teaching himself tenor saxophone while in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, moved to the Boston area and studied at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing, perhaps inspired by growing up in the south. Some thought his style was influenced by John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, but it is thought they developed their styles independently, and beyond some sheets of sounds similarities, they were distinctively different.
He moved to New York to join Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
's quartet, with whom he recorded Up & Down and Happy Frame of Mind (both for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
). Ervin worked with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
from 1956 to 1963, appearing on "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on the album Mingus Ah Um
Mingus Ah Um
Mingus Ah Um is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released on Columbia Records in 1959. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The cover features a painting by S...
and "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" on Blues and Roots, as well as Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a 1963 album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus.- Historical Context :...
. During the 1960s Ervin also led his own quartet, recording for Prestige Records
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
with ex-Mingus associate pianist Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
along with bassist Richard Davis and Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson was a respected jazz drummer and widely influential percussion teacher based in Boston. He was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, MA. Serving in the Army for Korean War duty, Dawson played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951-1953...
on drums. Ervin later recorded for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
and played with pianist Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
.
He died of kidney disease in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1970, aged 39.
As leader
- 1960: The Book CooksThe Book CooksThe Book Cooks is the debut album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1960 for the Bethlehem label.-Reception:...
(Bethlehem) - 1960: Cookin'Cookin' (Booker Ervin album)Cookin' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1960 for the Savoy label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4½ stars.-Track listing:# "Dee Da Do" - 7:32# "Mr...
(Savoy) - 1961: That's It!That's It!That's It! is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Booker Ervin, who always had a very unique sound on the tenor, is heard in prime form on...
(Candid) - 1963: Exultation!Exultation!Exultation! is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1963 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1963: The Freedom BookThe Freedom BookThe Freedom Book is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1963 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1963: The Song BookThe Song BookThe Song Book is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1963: Gumbo (Prestige)
- 1964: The Blues BookThe Blues BookThe Blues Book is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1964: The Space BookThe Space BookThe Space Book is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1965: Groovin' HighGroovin' High (Booker Ervin album)Groovin' High is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1963 and 1964 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1966: The TranceThe TranceThe Trance is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1965 for the Prestige label.-Reception:...
(Prestige) - 1966: Heavy!!!Heavy!!!Heavy!!! is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Prestige label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "The set matches Ervin with a remarkable rhythm section.....
(Prestige) - 1966: Structurally SoundStructurally SoundStructurally Sound is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin recorded in 1967 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. The album was rereleased on CD in 2001 on the Blue Note label with four bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Pacific Jazz) - 1967: Booker 'n' BrassBooker 'n' BrassBooker 'n' Brass is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1967 for the Pacific Jazz label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...
(Pacific Jazz) - 1968: The In BetweenThe In BetweenThe In Between is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "The music rarely reaches avant-garde territory -- instead, it's edgy, volatile...
(Blue Note) - 1968:Tex Book TenorTex Book TenorTex Book Tenor is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring the last performances Ervin recorded as a leader in 1968 for the Blue Note label...
(Blue Note)
Compilations
- Back from the GigBack from the GigBack from the Gig is a double LP by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1963 and 1968 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1976...
(1964-68 [1976]) - compiling then unreleased sessions that would later be issued as Horace ParlanHorace ParlanHorace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
's Happy Frame of MindHappy Frame of MindHappy Frame of Mind is the seventh album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1988...
in 1988 and Ervin's Tex Book Tenor in 2005.
As sideman
With Bill BarronBill Barron
William Barron , known as Bill Barron, was an English sportsman, who played football in the higher leagues before the Second World War and, along with some football, first class cricket afterwards.-Biography:...
- Hot Line (Denon, 1962)
With Teddy Charles
Teddy Charles
Teddy Charles is an American jazz pianist, drummer and vibraphone musician. Born Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, he began his musical career studying at Juilliard School of Music as a percussionist...
- Jazz in the Garden at the Museum of Modern Art (Warwick, 1960)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- Grass Roots (Blue Note, 1968)
With Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan
- Havin' a Ball at the Village GateHavin' a Ball at the Village GateHavin' a Ball at the Village Gate is an album by Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, the re-formed vocal group featuring Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks with Yolande Bavan after Annie Ross left the group in 1962...
(RCA, 1963)
With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Jazz Portraits: Mingus in WonderlandJazz Portraits: Mingus in WonderlandJazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland is a live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus recorded in 1959 and released on the United Artists label...
(United Artists, 1959) - Mingus Ah UmMingus Ah UmMingus Ah Um is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released on Columbia Records in 1959. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The cover features a painting by S...
(Columbia, 1959) - Blues & RootsBlues & RootsBlues & Roots is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released in 1960. It has been reissued twice as a CD, first by Atlantic Records, and then again by Rhino Entertainment in 1998....
(Atlantic, 1959) - Mingus at AntibesMingus at AntibesMingus at Antibes was originally a double album recorded at a live 1960 performance at Juan-les-Pins by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus; it was released in 1976....
(Atlantic, 1960 [1976]) - Reincarnation of a LovebirdReincarnation of a LovebirdReincarnation of a Lovebird is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus; it was recorded and released in 1960.-Track listing:#"Reincarnation of a Lovebird No 2" – 6:58#"Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" – 3:51#"R & R" – 11:51...
(Candid, 1960) - Oh YeahOh Yeah (album)Oh Yeah is a 1962 album by jazz musician Charles Mingus. It was recorded in 1961, and features the leader singing on three of the cuts and playing piano throughout.-Track listing:...
(Atlantic, 1961) - Tonight at NoonTonight at Noon (album)Tonight at Noon is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus compiling tracks recorded at two sessions, one in 1957 from the sessions that produced The Clown and the other in 1961 which produced the album Oh Yeah, that was released on the Atlantic label in 1965...
(Atlantic, 1957-61 [1965]) - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus MingusMingus Mingus Mingus Mingus MingusMingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a 1963 album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus.- Historical Context :...
(Impulse!, 1963)
With Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
- Up & DownUp & Down (album)Up & Down is the fourth album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1961) - Happy Frame of MindHappy Frame of MindHappy Frame of Mind is the seventh album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1988...
(Blue Note, 1963 [1988])
With Don Patterson
Don Patterson (organist)
Don Patterson was an American jazz organist.Patterson played piano from childhood and was heavily influenced by Erroll Garner in his youth. In 1956, he switched to organ after hearing Jimmy Smith play the instrument...
- Hip Cake Walk (Prestige, 1964)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- The QuestThe Quest (album)The Quest is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1961 and released on the New Jazz label. Some reissues of the album appear under Eric Dolphy's name.-Reception:...
(New Jazz, 1961)