[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE TO MR. WALTER M. BOOKER, JR.--JAZZ BASSIST

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 9, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life 
and legacy of Walter M. Booker, Jr, jazz bassist who left this world at 
the age of 72 years and to enter into the Record an article in the 
Washington Post by Matt Schudel entitled ``Walter Booker, 72; Jazz 
Bassist worked with Vaughn, Monk.''
  Walter M. Booker, Jr, was born in Texas, son of the late Walter 
Monroe Booker, Sr. and the late Thomye Collins Booker. The family moved 
to Washington, D.C. when his father accepted a position with the Howard 
University Medical School and later became Head of the Department of 
Pharmacology. Booker was drafted into the United States Army in the 
1950s. While serving in Europe he was fascinated with the acoustic bass 
and began to play the instrument at the age of 26.
  Known as ``Bookie,'' Booker lived for over 40 years in my 
Congressional District. He provided the rhythmic foundation for 
Cannonball Adderley, Sarah Vaughan and many other prominent jazz 
musicians. His most notable partnership was with the Adderley brothers' 
quintet, featuring Julian ``Cannonball'' Adderley on alto saxophone and 
Nat Adderley on cornet. For six years, until Cannonball's death in 
1975, Booker served as music ambassador touring the world with the 
popular group, which pioneered the catchy yet sophisticated style of 
music known as ``soul jazz.''
  Booker played a Viennese bass built in 1792 salvaged from the dusty 
basement of a German church. He is known for his bowing technique, sure 
intonation, ability to play high, accurately pitched notes, as well as 
his animated performing style, often swaying from side to side.
  Booker appeared on more than 275 albums before making his first and 
only recording under his own name, ``Bookie's Cookbook.'' He gave his 
final public performances in December 2004.
  Even though Walter M. Booker passed away on November 24, 2006, his 
contributions to the world of jazz and the United States of America 
will continue to resonate through his music.

               [From the Washington Post, Dec. 17, 2006]

       Walter Booker, 72; Jazz Bassist Worked With Vaughan, Monk

                           (By Matt Schudel)

       Walter Booker, a bass player who provided the rhythmic 
     foundation for Cannonball Adderley, Sarah Vaughan and many 
     other prominent jazz musicians, died Nov. 24 of cardiac 
     arrest at his home in New York. He was 72.
       Mr. Booker, who spent his formative years in Washington, 
     came to the bass at a relatively advanced age, first picking 
     up the instrument at 26 while serving in the Army. He had 
     completed two years of medical school at Howard University in 
     the early 1960s when he left his studies to pursue music as a 
     full-time career.
       Known for his precise, resonant tone, Mr. Booker was 
     quickly recognized as one of the elite bass players in jazz, 
     working for extended periods in the 1960s with singer Betty 
     Carter, pianist Chick Corea, trumpeter Donald Byrd and 
     saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz. He also toured 
     widely with Washington singer and pianist Shirley Horn.
       Mr. Booker formed one of his most significant partnerships 
     in 1969, when he joined the Adderley brothers' quintet, 
     featuring Julian ``Cannonball'' Adderley on alto saxophone 
     and Nat Adderley on cornet. For six years, until Cannonball's 
     death in 1975, Mr. Booker toured the world with the popular 
     group, which pioneered the catchy yet sophisticated style of 
     music known as ``soul jazz.''
       Working in several groups at the same time in the early 
     1970s, Mr. Booker was in one of the last ensembles led by 
     visionary composer and pianist Thelonious Monk. From 1975 to 
     1981, he was the bassist for singer Sarah Vaughan.
       ``They were more than colleagues,'' Mr. Booker's wife, 
     Bertha Hope-Booker, said of her husband's many associations 
     with renowned musicians. ``They were friends. All the music 
     he played, he imbued with something different.''
       After moving to New York in 1964, Mr. Booker studied with 
     Homer R. Mensch, a faculty member of the Juilliard School of 
     Music who had played under conductor Arturo Toscanini.
       Mr. Booker, who played a Viennese bass built in 1792 that 
     had been salvaged from the dusty basement of a German church, 
     became known for his bowing technique, his sure intonation 
     and his ability to play high, accurately pitched notes. He 
     was also known for his animated performing style, often 
     swaying from side to side.
       ``He was a `dancing' bass player,'' said his wife, a jazz 
     pianist and composer in her own right. ``It was like he and 
     the bass had this connection.''
       Walter Monroe Booker Jr. was born Dec. 17, 1933, in Prairie 
     View, Tex., and moved to Washington in the early 1940s, when 
     his father joined the faculty of the Howard University 
     medical school. (He later was the head of the pharmacology 
     department.)
       The younger Mr. Booker studied clarinet and piano, attended 
     D.C. public schools and graduated from high school at the 
     Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina. He was a 
     graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he played 
     alto saxophone in the concert band.
       In the late 1950s, while serving in the Army in Europe--he 
     was in the same unit as Elvis Presley--Mr. Booker developed 
     his interest in the bass. After returning to Washington, he 
     began to play in jazz bands, most notably the JFK Quintet led 
     by Andrew White, while attending medical school.
       In New York, Mr. Booker designed a recording studio based 
     on the geodesic principles of Buckminster Fuller. His studio 
     became a gathering place for many musicians who later had 
     celebrated careers, including Angela Bofill, Nat Adderley 
     Jr., T.S. Monk, Noel Pointer, Airto Moreira and the jazz-rock 
     group Weather Report.
       In the 1980s and `90s, Mr. Booker worked regularly with Nat 
     Adderley, pianist John Hicks and, in recent years, his wife. 
     He also led groups that performed Brazilian music, which he 
     occasionally played on guitar, and the works of jazz pianist 
     Elmo Hope, his wife's first husband. In the 1990s, he led 
     workshops at the New Sewell Music Conservatory in Washington.
       Mr. Booker appeared on more than 275 albums before making 
     his first and only recording under his own name, ``Bookie's 
     Cookbook,'' for the Mapleshade label in Upper Marlboro in 
     2000. He gave his final public performances in December 2004. 
     Suffering from prostate cancer and other ailments this year, 
     Mr. Booker asked that his bass be brought to his hospital, 
     where he could play it during his final illness.
       His marriages to Yvonne Blakeney and Maria Smith ended in 
     divorce.
       Survivors include his wife of 20 years, of New York; two 
     sons from his first marriage, Randall Booker of Miami and 
     Russell Booker of Philadelphia; a son from his second 
     marriage, Krishna Booker, who is a percussionist with Sergio 
     Mendes, of Los Angeles; three stepchildren, Monica Hope, 
     Kevin Hope and Daryl Hope, all of New York; a sister, 
     Marjorie Booker of Washington; two grandchildren; and a 
     great-grandson.

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