14 Facts About Booker Ervin

Booker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player.

Booker Ervin is remembered for his association with bassist Charles Mingus.

Booker Ervin first learned to play trombone at a young age from his father, who played the instrument with Buddy Tate.

Booker Ervin then worked with Charles Mingus regularly from late 1958 to 1960, rejoining various outfits led by the bassist at various times up to autumn 1964, when he departed for Europe.

Booker Ervin later recorded for Blue Note Records and played with pianist Randy Weston, with whom he recorded between 1963 and 1966.

Between October 1964 to summer 1966, Booker Ervin worked and lived in Europe, playing gigs in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands.

Booker Ervin recorded and broadcast while overseas, making albums with his own quartet, Dexter Gordon and Catalan vocalist Nuria Feliu, featuring on various radio programmes and appearing at several jazz festivals, including a guest slot at the 1965 Berlin Jazz Festival, during which he performed a 25-minute improvisation.

In 1968, Booker Ervin again appeared at clubs and festivals in Scandinavia, broadcasting with the Danish Radio Big Band.

Booker Ervin recorded again for Prestige, but in late 1966 was signed to West Coast label, Pacific Jazz, for whom he taped two albums, Structurally Sound and Booker 'n' Brass, before switching to Blue Note.

Booker Ervin recorded two Blue Note albums under his own name, In Between and Tex Book Tenor, the latter going unissued during his lifetime, initially being released in the 1970s as part of a double album shared with recordings made under the leadership of Horace Parlan.

Booker Ervin's final recorded appearance occurred in January 1969, when he guested on a further Prestige album headed by teenage multi-instrumentalist Eric Kloss.

Booker Ervin died of kidney disease in New York City in 1970, aged 39.

In 2017, Booker Ervin was the subject of a mini-biography written by English saxophonist and author Simon Spillett, published as part of an anthology package titled The Good Book.

Booker Ervin has been remembered by many artists, Ted Curson called one of his albums Ode to Booker Ervin; the band "Steam", in their album Real Time, called one of their tracks "Tellefero"; and others.