Out Front [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Booker Little | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1961
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Candid Records
• ASIN: B00004U04T
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,190 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Modern Post Bop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I finally get it, January 2, 2006

By 

jive rhapsodist (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Out Front (Audio CD)

This CD took its time revealing its charms to me. The use of a kind of omnipresent 3-part triadic harmony felt at the same time too rich and not rich enough. And which side of the Ornette fence does it stand on? Or does it sit on it? Well, these are the dangers of an overly canonical, overly historical approach to Jazz. If Booker would've lived past the age of 23, all would've surely been made clear. This is a very young man's record. And yet, it is the music of one who must have intuited that his time wasn't long. The playing and writing are brilliant, passionate and focused. The dirge - like qualities of Moods In Free Time are what finally woke me up to what's going on in this music. I myself would not have gone back to an ensemble part which resembles the opening at the end - that feels like the easy choice. But that's a minor cavil.
Booker's playing is so assured and lyrical. I love the way he attacks high notes. They don't seem to have the climactic function they have for so many trumpeters - they seem more like an element of design. His solos go very well next to some of composer Stefan Wolpe's music for trumpet. I also feel a link to some of Andrew Hill's music, especially Point of Departure. Not enough has been written about some music of the early - '60's which availed itself of some of the innovations of Free Jazz while continuing to make a music extremely linked to a set harmonic scheme. This is a classic of that music.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just might be Booker's best, April 24, 2003

By 

George T. Parsons (Nevada City, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out Front (Audio CD)

The tragically short lived Booker Little (died of kidney failure on October 5, 1961, at the age of 23) on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Eric Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute, Don Friedman on piano, Ron Carter plays bass on four tracks, while Art Davis supplies bass for the remaining three, Max Roach drums, and provides, tympani, and vibes.
Upbeat and sunny pieces alternate with slower and dreamier, even slightly melancholic tracks.
I've listened to this album almost more than any other jazz release I own, and I've yet to tire of it.
I was listening to "Man of Words" when I got the news that one of my oldest and best childhood friends had passed away, I can't imagine a more appropriate piece of music for such an experience.
Buy this today if you like jazz at all.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly "Out Front", November 4, 2000

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out Front (Audio CD)

Booker Little's "Out Front" is truly one of the great early recordings of the New Jazz. Recorded over two sessions in the spring of 1961 for jazz writer and critic Nat Hentoff's Candid label, "Out Front" features some of the best jazz musicians of the day -- Eric Dolphy, Julian Priester, Ron Carter and Max Roach. (Additionally, Art Davis replaces Carter on three tracks and Don Friedman plays piano.) These are names that would become synonymous with the experimental jazz innovations of the 60s. Of the numerous factors that contribute to this being a classic album, Little's creative compositions and impeccable arrangements are the most remarkable. The combination of Dolphy, Little and Priester produced bright, energetic melodies that are hauntingly evocative. Unfortunately, Little would die in just a few short months. And it's tragically ironic that just as Little was shedding the inevitable Clifford Brown comparisons, Little too would die too young and too soon. "Out Front" gives us a glimpse at what could have been, yet thankfully it is a masterpiece in its own right to relish.