James Booker

[Debra]

This is not a jazz question, but I wondered if the members here could help me. I have heard small amounts of James Booker's recordings on the radio. Can anyone recommend some CDs or LPs by James Booker?

[paul secor]

The best Booker by far is Junco Partner on Hannibal http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1006228. It was originally issued as an Island LP in the 1970's and I highly recommend it.

My favorite live Booker is on an LP - Blues & Ragtime from New Orleans (Aves) - don't know if it's ever made it to CD.

Spiders on the Keys and Resurrection of the Bayou Majarajah (Rounder) are live recordings from the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans - Booker in his milieu. Erratic, but worth listening to and wading through.

One last one - The Lost Paramount Tapes - Recorded in 1973 in Hollwood with a band. Not perfect, but worth listening to for some good Booker.

By all accounts, James Booker was never truly captured on record, but Junco Partner came the closest imo. That's the one to go to first.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I only have one 45 of his, so I'd be interested in any replies you get.

Come in, Paul Secor!!!!

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Aha! We were on at the same time!

Moving this to artists.

MG

[Stereojack]

I was lucky enough to see Booker several times in New Orleans. He was outstanding, and I've picked up every record and CD as it has been released. I'll second the "Junco Partner" recommendation, and I also agree with Paul Secor about the wonderful Aves LP's, although they are hard to find nowadays.

[Harold_Z]

I have to hunt for "Junco Partner" - you guys got me interested.

I have three lps.

Classified on Demon Records. Outstanding band with Booker here. Red Tyler, James Singleton and Johnny Vidacovich (who is one hell of a drummer.)

James Booker Vol one on JSP

New Orleans Piano Wizard Live on Rounder.

Don't know if any of them made it to cd. I bought them all in the late 70s or early 80s. I like all of them.

I also have an Ace 45 that I don't remember the name of.

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is

Mack Johnson (tp)

David "Bubba" Brooks (ts)

Cornell Muldrow (org)

Phil Upchurch (g,el-b)

Joe Hadrick (d)

I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.)

MG

[Harold_Z]

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is

Mack Johnson (tp)

David "Bubba" Brooks (ts)

Cornell Muldrow (org)

Phil Upchurch (g,el-b)

Joe Hadrick (d)

I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.)

MG

Joe Hadrick is who told me that Booker played that date. For some reason Cornell Muldrow didn't play the date. Muldrow was an organist from Baltimore (Joe's hometown) jand with the exception of Booker this was the backup band for Dee Clark.

Edited January 11, 2008 by Harold_Z

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is

Mack Johnson (tp)

David "Bubba" Brooks (ts)

Cornell Muldrow (org)

Phil Upchurch (g,el-b)

Joe Hadrick (d)

I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.)

MG

Joe Hadrick is who told me that Booker played that date. For some reason Cornell Muldrow didn't play the date. Muldrow was an organist from Baltimore (Joe's hometown) jand with the exception of Booker this was the backup band for Dee Clark.

Oh wow! Thanks so much for that info! That really IS an important record in the way my tastes developed.

Clark got a writing credit on that tune. I wonder what he contributed?

MG

[Harold_Z]

Clark got a writing credit on that tune. I wonder what he contributed?

I wonder if Dee Clark was credited on the Dovells' record also. I can't remember which was released first. IOW was the Dovells record lyrics to an instrumental or vice versa? I guess if it was the former Dee contributed for sure

Yusef told me it was Dee Clark's voice that is heard on the Phil Upchurch record. During the drum breaks he says (for instance) "play it, Joe!"

Also, it's awhile since I listened to this track, but am I correct in remembering that there is both Hammond and acoustic piano on this record? The electric bass is probably Phil Upchurch overdubbed - the Hammond is playing bass also.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Clark got a writing credit on that tune. I wonder what he contributed?

I wonder if Dee Clark was credited on the Dovells' record also. I can't remember which was released first. IOW was the Dovells record lyrics to an instrumental or vice versa? I guess if it was the former Dee contributed for sure

Yusef told me it was Dee Clark's voice that is heard on the Phil Upchurch record. During the drum breaks he says (for instance) "play it, Joe!"

Also, it's awhile since I listened to this track, but am I correct in remembering that there is both Hammond and acoustic piano on this record? The electric bass is probably Phil Upchurch overdubbed - the Hammond is playing bass also.

The Upchurch version definitely came out first. It was almost immediately covered by Bill Doggett on WB. (I got both versions which came out simultaneously in Britain.) It was the following year that the Dovells' version came out. Actually, for what it set out to be, that wasn't a bad record, but I didn't keep it (or the Doggett version). In fact, I didn't keep the Upchurch version either - I was flexing it in my hands one day and broke it in half! So I have the UK reissue on Sue.

MG

[jostber]

A couple of suggestions:

Edited January 13, 2008 by jostber

[Debra]

A couple of suggestions:

I can't see your first suggestion. There is just a red X there. Can you provide the album title? Thank you.

[Noj]

For some reason I can see it, Debra. It reads "King Of The New Orleans Keyboard," and has an image of Booker with an eyepatch.

[jostber]

These are the two records:

James Booker -

King of the New Orleans Keyboard (JSP Records)

http://www.amazon.com/King-Orleans-Keyboar...0872&sr=8-3

Gonzo: More Than All the 45's (Night Train International)

http://www.amazon.de/Gonzo-More-Than-All-4...1060&sr=8-1

[jostber]

Here is James Booker's discography:

http://www.wirz.de/music/bookefrm.htm

[BookerFan]

This is not a jazz question, but I wondered if the members here could help me. I have heard small amounts of James Booker's recordings on the radio. Can anyone recommend some CDs or LPs by James Booker?

Hi Debra

I've got most of James Bookers available material and am working to get the unavailable stuff released so here's my top five

1) Piano Prince of New Orleans / Blues & Ragtime from New Orleans

Two LP's cut from a gig at Onkel Po's Carnegie Hall in Hamburg on Bookers first European tour. He is at the top of his game on these recordings. Quite difficult to track down these days but they do pop up now and then. Check out Ebay or Gemm.

2) Ressurection of the Bayou Maharajah / Spiders on the Keys

Twin CD release culled from 70 hours worth of performances at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans.

3) Junco Partner

The best of only 2 studio albums cut in Booker's lifetime. Produced by Joe Boyd this has classical interpretations and definitive versions of New Orleans standards and Booker originals.

4) New Orleans Piano Wizard Live!

Bookers winning set from the Boogie Woogie and Ragtime Piano Contest in Switzerland 1977. Apparently he edited a tape of all the appluase that he used to listen to. Makes a change from the talking and plates being dropped that forms the background for most of his N.O. tapes.

5) Classified

He was far from his best by 1982 but Bookers second and last album still has some amazing moments. His version of Angel Eyes is breathtaking.

There is a major Booker release in the pipeline at the moment that will compile a lot of unreleased material and some long sought after video. Keep an eye out for that late 2008.

[jeffcrom]

James Booker's two German Aves albums, plus another recorded at the same time which was issued on Amiga, have been reissued by Black Sun Music - apparently only in mp3 form, unfortunately. Here's an Amazon link and Tom McDermott's review in Offeat magazine.

I would have preferred a physical issue, or at least a FLAC download option, but whatever - I snatched these up right away. If you have lots of Booker albums, as I do, you hear lots of the same selections over and over again. But there are lots of tunes on these albums that he never recorded anywhere else. And as others have said, the performances are outstanding, full of those "he must have three hands" moments that I always have when listening to Booker.

I would also recommend a CD nobody else has mentioned, except that it now seems pretty tough to find. 1978 - Live at Montreux on Montreux Sounds is excellent - I turn to it as much as any other James Booker album. One third of it is solo, the rest with a rhythm section. A New Orleans rhythm section would have been better, maybe, but Booker is in excellent form; I think this album contains the best singing he ever recorded.

[jazztrain]

There's a documentary film about James Booker that's in the works.

Here's a link to some footage that's been posted for fund raising purposes:

James Booker documentary in progress

James Booker's two German Aves albums, plus another recorded at the same time which was issued on Amiga, have been reissued by Black Sun Music - apparently only in mp3 form, unfortunately. Here's an Amazon link and Tom McDermott's review in Offeat magazine.

I would have preferred a physical issue, or at least a FLAC download option, but whatever - I snatched these up right away. If you have lots of Booker albums, as I do, you hear lots of the same selections over and over again. But there are lots of tunes on these albums that he never recorded anywhere else. And as others have said, the performances are outstanding, full of those "he must have three hands" moments that I always have when listening to Booker.

I would also recommend a CD nobody else has mentioned, except that it now seems pretty tough to find. 1978 - Live at Montreux on Montreux Sounds is excellent - I turn to it as much as any other James Booker album. One third of it is solo, the rest with a rhythm section. A New Orleans rhythm section would have been better, maybe, but Booker is in excellent form; I think this album contains the best singing he ever recorded.

[cih]

One last one - The Lost Paramount Tapes - Recorded in 1973 in Hollwood with a band. Not perfect, but worth listening to for some good Booker.

I like this one a lot - I love the sound of that plinkety spinet, and the percussion - and it says somewhere (I think - in the sleeve notes?) that Dr John used to play his band these recordings to indicate the sound he wanted

Booker's habit of name-checking artists before he played their compositions pointed me in one or two very far-reaching directions. In fact, it was from the Junco Partner album that I got to Leadbelly and then pre-war blues (and music) in general... if it all goes to downloads, and we don't have sleeve notes, we're going to have to rely on artists calling all their sources as they go along

Edited January 9, 2012 by cih

[jeffcrom]

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is

Mack Johnson (tp)

David "Bubba" Brooks (ts)

Cornell Muldrow (org)

Phil Upchurch (g,el-b)

Joe Hadrick (d)

I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.)

MG

Joe Hadrick is who told me that Booker played that date. For some reason Cornell Muldrow didn't play the date. Muldrow was an organist from Baltimore (Joe's hometown) jand with the exception of Booker this was the backup band for Dee Clark.

Hmm.... Last night I had a 45 RPM listening session. At one point, I played the Boyd 45 of "You Can't Sit Down," followed by two of Booker's Peacock singles, recorded around the same time. This morning I picked out sections of the Upchurch record with prominent organ and compared them to parts of "Gonzo" and "Cool Turkey."

All I can say is that the organist on "You Can't Sit Down" doesn't sound like James Booker to me. Booker's sound is consistent on the Peacock records - he uses the drawbars to emphasize the higher harmonics. (I don't know what terminology organists use, so forgive my ignorance.) The organist on "You Can't Sit Down" has a very different sound - fatter and more "modern."

And since Muldrow has co-composer credit on the tune, it seems odd to me that he wouldn't have played on it. I don't know what else was recorded at the "Can't Sit Down" session - could Booker have sat in on some other tunes?

All this is based on my ears, of course, which have failed me before. But it doesn't sound like Booker to me.

[paul secor]

Booker is also the organist on the Phil Upchurch recording of "You Can't Sit Down." A smokin' record if there ever was one !!

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is

Mack Johnson (tp)

David "Bubba" Brooks (ts)

Cornell Muldrow (org)

Phil Upchurch (g,el-b)

Joe Hadrick (d)

I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.)

MG

Joe Hadrick is who told me that Booker played that date. For some reason Cornell Muldrow didn't play the date. Muldrow was an organist from Baltimore (Joe's hometown) jand with the exception of Booker this was the backup band for Dee Clark.

Hmm.... Last night I had a 45 RPM listening session. At one point, I played the Boyd 45 of "You Can't Sit Down," followed by two of Booker's Peacock singles, recorded around the same time. This morning I picked out sections of the Upchurch record with prominent organ and compared them to parts of "Gonzo" and "Cool Turkey."

All I can say is that the organist on "You Can't Sit Down" doesn't sound like James Booker to me. Booker's sound is consistent on the Peacock records - he uses the drawbars to emphasize the higher harmonics. (I don't know what terminology organists use, so forgive my ignorance.) The organist on "You Can't Sit Down" has a very different sound - fatter and more "modern."

And since Muldrow has co-composer credit on the tune, it seems odd to me that he wouldn't have played on it. I don't know what else was recorded at the "Can't Sit Down" session - could Booker have sat in on some other tunes?

All this is based on my ears, of course, which have failed me before. But it doesn't sound like Booker to me.

Have no idea whether it's Booker or not but, from what I can find, all that was recorded at that session was "You Can't Sit Down Parts 1 & 2".

Edited January 12, 2012 by paul secor

[jeffcrom]

Just wanted to opine that I think we can increase James Booker's discography by one item. This morning I listened to this 1961 LP - Fats Domino Presents Dave Bartholomew and his Great Big Band on Imperial. It's a fun album by a crack big band of great New Orleans musicians, performing tunes associated with Fats. The main soloist is an organist named on in the credits as "Bobby James." I did a good bit of poking around the internet and in my copy of Ruppli's Imperial discography today, and Mr. James seems to have only existed for this one session. Since James Booker played on just about every Bartholomew recording during this period, I think we can safely assume that Bobby James and James Booker are one and the same.

This album was made during the "Gonzo" period, when Booker was under contract to Peacock. He recorded frequently on New Orleans R & B sessions during this period, but almost always for singles, on which there would be no personnel listings on the labels. This album was different - the personnel is listed on the back.

Edited December 9, 2017 by jeffcrom