Booker Little – Booker Little

This is only one one-horn recoding Booker Little made. The first of all, it must be mentioned the recording quality is very high and the fat sound of Littler is very closely audible. Second, participation of Scott La Faro on bass makes the recording very, very interesting. Both Little and La Faro died very, very young. Third, except for the last tune, all compositions are by Little and they are very well composed. In my opinion they are highly more mature, more accessible, and more boppish than those in his other leader albums (Out Front, WIth Max Roach, and And Friends). Little's solos on this albums are heart-warming. The last tune, a rarely-played Alec Wilder composition (well, you find one rendition in a great Blue Note album of Sheila Jordan) that has the same title as much more often played Anthony Newly--Leslie Briccuse tune, is beautifully played. The drumming of Roy Haynes and the piano playing by Kelly and Garland are excellent two. All six pieces are lovely, but my favorites are Opening Statement and Who Can I Turn To. It is really a shame that they recorded only four tracks for this album (in total of less than 30 minutes)!