Legendary New Orleans pianist and songman James Booker only released two studio albums in his lifetime. His second and last studio effort, Classified, has recently been remastered and remixed for reissue, and it speaks to his wild talent and chaotic life, a sublime R&B record that prompts the question where else his dazzlingly skill might have taken him had things turned out differently.
Category: James Booker
James Booker :: Montreux Jazz Festival, July 1978
Ancient AD. We originally featured the following 1978 live recording (captured at the Montreux Jazz Festival) back in October of 2005. We’ve collected a number of live documents from this New Orleans piano master — Live at Montreux is by far the most spirited. Pearls on black velvet, the set is essential listening for Booker acolytes and New Orleans piano disciples alike. Ten tracks, all very raw arrangements with Booker backed by a loose, electric pick-up band that full-on swings.
Transmissions Podcast :: Kurt Vile / ECM Records / James Booker
Happy Halloween and welcome to the October edition of the Transmissions podcast. Hope you enjoyed our bonus podcast episode, featuring AD’s Halloween mix. If you haven’t heard it, check your […]
James Booker: The Lost Paramount Tapes / Los Angeles, August 15th
In 1973, New Orleans piano wunderkind James Booker cut a session after a gig while in Los Angeles. Which was promptly lost and, much later, found. You can read our piece on the session ( and its forthcoming […]
James Booker :: The Lost Paramount Tapes (1973)
One night in 1973, pianist James Booker and his band, freshly seasoned from recent shows at the nearby club Dirty Pierre’s, sauntered into Paramount Recording Studios in Hollywood. It was […]
James Booker :: Return of The Bayou Maharajah
In July of 1978, James Carroll Booker III sat down at a grand piano in a large concert hall in Montreux, Switzerland and played “True.” The video of this performance is spellbinding, if not […]
James Booker :: Montreux Jazz Festival, July 1978
Spiders on keys, indeed. I’m heading to Zurich in the morning to catch a train to the jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland — something akin to a pilgrimage to mecca. I was first hipped to […]
James Booker :: Live – The BBC Sessions, 1978
Staying on this James Booker tip for a minute, this BBC session is very much worth digging into. Broken into two parts, the interview/performance was recorded in 1978 for the BBC while Booker was in […]
James Booker :: Montreux Jazz Festival, July 1978
Spiders on keys, indeed. This past March the long awaited James Booker documentary, Bayou Maharajah , premiered at SXSW in Austin. It was met with widespread critical acclaim. I was first hipped to this bonafide […]
James Booker :: Classified
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James Booker :: Live @ Montreux Jazz Festival, July 1978
Ahoy there. I featured this rare 1978 live recording, from the Montreux Jazz Festival , on AD in October of 2005 as part of the original Live Upload Series. I suspect a good […]
New Orleans :: Jazzfest, April/May 2008
Who’s hitting up jazzfest this year in New Orleans? We’ll be there the second weekend presenting the Parliament Funkadelic show at The Republic . Details/Tickets to follow… Download: MP3: James Booker :: Tipitina/The Grass Looks Greener MP3: […]