Booker Ervin
Structurally Sound
Best known for his association with Charles Mingus, the Texas-born tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin was a distinctive soloist with an assertive and immediately recognizable sound. One of Ervin’s pinnacle statements as a leader was the first of his two Pacific Jazz albums, Structurally Sound, which he cut in 1966 shortly after returning to the U.S. from a two-year period of living in Barcelona and working across Europe. Featuring Ervin fronting a top-shelf quintet with Charles Tolliver on trumpet, …
The Quest
2025 stock Probably due to the fact that Eric Dolphy died untimely in 1964, making every one of his recorded contributions more widely sought after, pianist Mal Waldron’s album, The Quest, was reissued soon after its release under the reedman’s name. Tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin is also featured on The Quest. Ervin and Dolphy had both been members of the Charles Mingus group and the two reedmen recorded various LPs together with Mingus between 1960 and 1963.
Cracklin'
The six tracks include originals by Ervin "Scoochie", pianist Ronnie Mathews "Dorian" and "Honeydew", and Haynes "Bad News Blues" as well as tremendous versions of Randy Weston's "Sketch of Melba" and Hubert Giraud's "Under Paris Skies." Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ on April 6, 1963, this soulful and adventurous album deserves a place in any modern jazz collection. Personnel: Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone; Ronnie Matthews - piano; Larry Ridley - bass; Roy Haynes…