James Booker

James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues musician born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards.

Biography
Booker was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, both of whom played the piano. He spent most of his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his father pastored a church. Booker received a saxophone as a gift from his mother, but he demonstrated a stronger interest in the keyboard. He first played organ in his father's churches.

After returning to New Orleans in his early adolescence, Booker attended the Xavier Academy Preparatory School. He learned some elements of his keyboard style from Tuts Washington and Edward Frank. Booker was highly skilled in classical music and played Bach and Chopin, among other composers. He also mastered and memorized solos by Erroll Garner, and Liberace. His thorough background in piano literature may have enabled his original and virtuosic interpretations of jazz and other popular music. These performances combined elements of stride, blues, gospel and Latin piano styles.

Booker made his recording debut in 1954 on the Imperial label, with "Doin' the Hambone" and "Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby." This led to some session work with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and Lloyd Price.

In 1958, Arthur Rubinstein gave a concert in New Orleans. Afterwards, eighteen-year-old Booker was introduced to the concert pianist and played several tunes for him. Rubinstein was astonished, saying "I could never play that... never at that tempo." (The Times-Picayune, 1958) Booker also became known for his flamboyant personality amongst his peers.

After recording a few other singles, he enrolled as an undergraduate in Southern University's music department. In 1960, Booker's "Gonzo" reached number 43 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and number 3 on the R&B chart. This was followed by some moderately successful singles. In the 1960s, he turned to drugs, and in 1970 served a brief sentence in Angola Prison for possession.

Professor Longhair and Ray Charles were among his important influences.

In 1973 Booker recorded The Lost Paramount Tapes at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California with members of the Dr. John band which included John Boudreaux on drums, Jessie Hill on percussion, Alvin Robinson on guitar and vocals, Richard "Didymus" Washington on percussion, David Lastie on sax and Dave Johnson on bass. This album was produced by the former Dr. John and Sweathog bassist, David L. Johnson and Daniel J. Moore. The master tapes disappeared from the Paramount Recording Studios library, but a copy of some of the mixes made near the time of the recordings was discovered in 1992, which resulted in a CD release. Booker played organ in Dr. John's Bonnaroo Revue touring band in 1974 and appeared as a sideman on albums by Ringo Starr, John Mayall, The Doobie Brothers, Labelle and Maria Muldaur throughout this period.

Booker's performance at the 1975 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival earned him a recording contract with Island Records. His album with Island, Junco Partner, was produced by Joe Boyd, who had previously recorded Booker on sessions for the Muldaurs' records. In January 1976, Booker joined the Jerry Garcia Band; following two concerts in Palo Alto, California that found titular bandleader Garcia "backing up... Booker on most numbers," he was replaced by Grateful Dead pianist Keith Godchaux.

Booker recorded a number of albums while touring Europe in 1977, including New Orleans Piano Wizard: Live!, which was recorded at his performance in the 'Boogie Woogie and Ragtime Piano Contest' in Zurich, Switzerland This album won the Grand Prix du Disque. He played at the Nice and Montreux Jazz Festivals in 1978. Fourteen years later a recording in Leipzig from this tour would become the last record to be produced in the former East Germany. It was entitled Let's Make A Better World!.

From 1977 to 1982 he was the house pianist at the Maple Leaf Bar in the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans. Recordings during this time made by John Parsons were released as Spider on the Keys and Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah.

His last commercial audio recording, Classified, was made in 1982 — in four hours according to the producer, Scott Billington. By this time, his physical and mental condition had deteriorated.

At the end of October, 1983, film-maker Jim Gabour captured Booker's final concert performance. The footage from the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans was broadcast on Cox Cable and a six-and-a-half-minute improvisation, "Seagram's Jam," featured on Gabour's film - All Alone with the Blues.

Booker died ten days later, on November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair, waiting to be seen at the emergency room at New Orleans Charity Hospital. The cause of death was renal failure. (Orleans Parish Coroner's Death Certificate). His death was mourned by music lovers, but was unsurprising to those who were aware of his lifelong history of serious drug abuse and chronic alcoholism.

Harry Connick Jr., a student and close friend of Booker, is probably his most renowned disciple. Connick, Henry Butler, and Dr. John, among others, have recorded songs with titles and musical styles referencing Booker.

Transcriptions by Joshua Paxton (with Tom McDermott and Andy Fielding) of Booker's playing are available in "The James Booker Collection" and "New Orleans Piano Legends", both published by The Hal Leonard Corporation.

Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker is a 2003 release consisting of a compilation of his songs performed by various pianists.

The latest Booker album, released in June 2007, is Manchester '77, which consists of a live performance recorded in October 1977 at The Lake Hotel, Belle Vue, Manchester with Norman Beaker on guitar.

It has been speculated that his song "Gonzo" was the inspiration for the use of the word gonzo to describe Hunter S. Thompson's journalistic style.

A feature-length documentary entitled "Bayou Maharajah" is currently being produced by Lily Keber on the life of James Booker.

Discography
(Albums listed are with James Booker as main artist. For a complete discography which includes Booker's other album credits, see "External Links".)