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Walter Monroe Booker, Jr. December 17, 1933 - November 24, 2006 |
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Written by Jim Eigo
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Friday, 15 December 2006 |
 Walter Monroe Booker, Jr., lovingly dubbed “Bookie,” was born on
December 17, 1933 in Prairie View, Texas to the late Walter Monroe
Booker, Sr. and the late Thomye Collins Booker. The family moved
to Washington, D.C. when his father accepted a position with the Howard
University Medical School and later became Head of the Department of
Pharmacology. Booker was the oldest of two children, his sister,
Marjorie, fifteen years his junior resides in Washington, D.C. He
attended the District of Columbia Public Schools for his early
education and graduated from high school at the Palmer Institute of
North Carolina. Booker then matriculated and graduated from
Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Booker was drafted into the United States Army during which period he
became fascinated with and began to play the acoustic bass. He
married Yvonne Blakeney with whom he had two sons, Randall and
Russell. In 1959, he returned to Washington where he quickly
became a member of Andrew White’s band, the JFK Quintet, who performed
regularly at the Bohemian Caverns. Cannonball Adderley discovered
them at the Caverns and brought them to public attention by way of
their first recording, “New Jazz Frontiers From Washington.” He
attended Howard University Medical School while performing with the
quintet, but withdrew from school after two years to pursue his musical
career full time.
He moved to New York City in 1964 and studied privately with Homer R.
Mensch, Juilliard faculty member and one of the 20th Century’s greatest
bass players and teachers of that instrument. Booker later
married Maria Smith and had one son, Krishna. His remarkable
talent gained recognition fast from notable and professional jazz
musicians. He was first hired by trumpeter Donald Byrd, and later
performed with both Stan Getz’ and Sonny Rollins’ bands. From
1967 to 1969, Booker recorded and toured with many jazz greats — Ray
Bryant, Art Farmer, Harold Vick, Betty Carter, and, most notably, with
Thelonius Monk’s last touring ensemble.
In 1969, Booker was invited to join the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, a
recording, and touring relationship and friendship that lasted until
Cannonball’s untimely death in 1975. That year, Booker became
Sarah Vaughan’s bassist. He recorded and toured with her for the
next six years.
While playing with Cannonball and Sarah Vaughan, Bookie began to
explore his interest in music production and recording. He
designed, constructed, and operated Boogie Woogie Studios in his Upper
West Side Manhattan apartment. Booker used geodesic principles to
sculpt two rehearsal and recording spaces, an ingenious concept that
produced clean, pure, high-tech quality sound. For over ten years
Boogie Woogie became a launching pad for musicians from all over the
world, helping to shape their growth by providing a safe haven for them
to develop their craft and learn at the feet of the many masters who
passed through the studio doors. Artists who credit Walter Booker
and Boogie Woogie Studios for their start include Nat Adderley, Jr.,
Rasheed Ali, Angela Bofill, Earl McIntyre, T.S. Monk, Airto Moreira,
Noel Pointer, and Moroslav Vigous Ira “Buddy” Williams.
Three unions born of Boogie Woogie Studio include the young group
“Natural Essence,” led by artist Rasheed Ali; “Love Carnival and
Dreams,” a wonderful Brazilian jazz collaboration formed by Booker and
Guilherme Vergueiro; and “Weather Report” the jazz crossover group
formed by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.
In 1983, Bertha Hope was sent by a friend to meet Booker to investigate
recording in the Boogie Woogie studio. This was the beginning of
a friendship that blossomed over the next three years into a life-long
relationship. They enjoyed many hours of playing and recording
together.
Booker traveled and performed with the John Hicks Trio. The trio
also accompanied saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders on a West Coast
tour. Nat Adderley, Cannonball’s brother, asked Bookie to join
his new quintet. Booker continued to play, record, and tour with
other jazz artists, but he primarily recorded and toured
internationally with Nat for 17 years until Nat’s demise in early
2000. Every year since its 1987 inception, Booker performed at
the annual Child of the Sun Festival in Lakeland, Florida with the Nat
Adderley Quintet, continuing after Adderley’s death with the remaining
members.
In the early ‘90s Booker served as tutor, teacher and mentor to many,
inspiring young musicians through lectures, demonstrations and
performances at the Sewell Music Conservatory in Washington, D.C.
This exemplified his love and dedication to music. His generosity
in sharing his knowledge with others expanded his influence by reaching
across generations in this “hometown” setting.
In 2000, after recording on well over 250 albums, Walter Booker
produced and released his first album as bandleader forming the Walter
Booker Quintet to record “Bookie’s Cookbook” on Mapleshade
Records. He was anchored by Cecil Payne on baritone sax, Marcus
Belgrave on trumpet, Roni Ben-Hur on guitar, and Leroy Williams on
drums. He toured as part of the Bertha Hope Trio, together with
drummer Jimmy Cobb. Bookie also formed ElMollennium with his wife
jazz pianist Bertha Hope and guitarist Roni Ben-Hur, an ensemble
dedicated to performing the music of the late be-bop pianist Elmo Hope.
“Book’s Bossa” and “Saudade,” tunes Walter Booker composed, were
recorded by Pat Metheny, Donald Byrd and over a dozen others.
Portions of another composition from the “Zodiac Suite” were sampled by
Hip Hop artist “A Tribe Called Qwest” and Grammy recipient
“Monica.” In 2004, in recognition of his music integrated into
the most played song for the prior year, Booker received a Citation of
Achievement from BMI for the “Monica” recording, “So Gone” which
attained the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s R&B chart.
In September 2004, as a birthday tribute to Cannonball Adderley, Booker
performed at the Iridium in New York City with the last rhythm section
to perform with Cannonball’s band. Joining him were Michael Woolf
on piano, Roy McCurdy on drums, Vincent Herring on alto sax, James
Moody on tenor sax and James Carter on baritone sax. In December
of that same year, La Belle Epoch restaurant hosted a special birthday
bash for Booker. It was heavily attended by many world-renowned
musicians and friends who came to jam and celebrate with him. It
would be his last public performance.
On Friday, November 24, 2006, Walter M. Booker, Jr. left this world to
journey to the next. He is survived by Bertha, his loving wife of
twenty years, three children Randall, Russell, and Krishna, his sister
Marjorie, niece Cecily and her husband Keith, nephew Thomas,
grandnephew Victor; his stepchildren Monica, Daryl and Kevin -- whom he
called his ‘brother-in-the-craft,’ a host of cousins and many loving
friends and acquaintances.
“Celebration of Life” Memorial Service for Walter M. Booker, Jr. to be
held on Sunday' January 14, 2007 - 7:30 P.M. at Saint Peters Lutheran
Church 619 Lexington Avenue, On 54th Street, New York, NY 10022 (212)
935-2200.
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 Monday, 06 October 2008
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