Certainly one of the most flamboyant New Orleans pianists in
recent memory, James Carroll Booker III was a major influence on the local
rhythm & blues scene in the '50s and '60s. Booker's training included
classical instruction until age 12, by which time he had already begun to gain
recognition as a blues and gospel organist on radio station WMRY every Sunday.
By the time he was out of high school he had recorded on several occasions,
including his own first release, " Doing the Hambone," in 1953. In 1960, he made
the national charts with " Gonzo," an organ instrumental, and over the course of
the next two decades played and recorded with artists as varied as Lloyd Price,
Aretha Franklin, Ringo Starr, the Doobie Brothers, and B.B. King. In 1967, he
was convicted of possession of heroin and served a
one-year sentence at Angola
Penitentiary (referred to as the " Ponderosa" ), which took the momentum out of an
otherwise promising career. The rediscovery of " roots" music by college students
during the '70s (focusing primarily on " Fess" by Professor Longhair) provided
the opportunity for a comeback by 1974, with numerous engagements at local clubs
like Tipitina's, The Maple Leaf, and Snug Harbor. As with " Fess," Booker's
performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals took on the
trappings of legendary " happenings," and he often spent his festival earnings to
arrive in style, pulling up to the stage in a rented Rolls Royce and attired in
costumes befitting the " Piano Prince of New Orleans," complete with a cape. Such
performances tended to be unpredictable: he might easily plant some Chopin into
a blues tune or launch into a jeremiad on the CIA with all the fervor of a
"
Reverend Ike-meets-Moms Mabley" tag-team match.
Booker's left hand was simply phenomenal, often a problem for bass players who found themselves running for cover in an attempt to stay out of the way with it he successfully amalgamated the jazz and rhythm & blues idioms of New Orleans, adding more than a touch of gospel thrown in for good measure. His playing was also highly improvisational, reinventing a progression (usually his own) so that a
single
piece would evolve into a medley of itself. In addition, he had a plaintive and
seering vocal style which was equally comfortable with gospel, jazz standards,
blues, or popular songs. Despite his personal eccentricities, Booker had the
respect of New Orleans' best musicians, and elements of his influence are still
very much apparent in the playing of pianists like Henry Butler and Harry
Connick, Jr. ~ Bruce Boyd Raeburn, All Music Guide
one-year sentence at Angola
Penitentiary (referred to as the " Ponderosa" ), which took the momentum out of an
otherwise promising career. The rediscovery of " roots" music by college students
during the '70s (focusing primarily on " Fess" by Professor Longhair) provided
the opportunity for a comeback by 1974, with numerous engagements at local clubs
like Tipitina's, The Maple Leaf, and Snug Harbor. As with " Fess," Booker's
performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals took on the
trappings of legendary " happenings," and he often spent his festival earnings to
arrive in style, pulling up to the stage in a rented Rolls Royce and attired in
costumes befitting the " Piano Prince of New Orleans," complete with a cape. Such
performances tended to be unpredictable: he might easily plant some Chopin into
a blues tune or launch into a jeremiad on the CIA with all the fervor of a
"
Reverend Ike-meets-Moms Mabley" tag-team match. Booker's left hand was simply phenomenal, often a problem for bass players who found themselves running for cover in an attempt to stay out of the way with it he successfully amalgamated the jazz and rhythm & blues idioms of New Orleans, adding more than a touch of gospel thrown in for good measure. His playing was also highly improvisational, reinventing a progression (usually his own) so that a
single
piece would evolve into a medley of itself. In addition, he had a plaintive and
seering vocal style which was equally comfortable with gospel, jazz standards,
blues, or popular songs. Despite his personal eccentricities, Booker had the
respect of New Orleans' best musicians, and elements of his influence are still
very much apparent in the playing of pianists like Henry Butler and Harry
Connick, Jr. ~ Bruce Boyd Raeburn, All Music Guide 
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