James Booker
After being mainly a rhythm and blues artist, Booker later fused this genre with jazz and with popular music such as that of the Beatles, playing these in his signature backbeat.James "Jimmie" Harald Booker, a New Orleans Baptist church pastor and World War I army veteran.Nicknamed "J.C.," Booker was a child prodigy, classically trained on piano from the age of six,[4] and played the organ in his father's churches.1935) and son James to live near Ora's sister, Eva Sylvester, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, temporarily on several occasions.Ellis Marsalis Jr. was band director at the school at the time, and noted the highly advanced quality of Booker's playing of Bach.[8] As a classical pianist, Booker focused on music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Ernesto Lecuona (for example, Malagueña), and memorized solos by Erroll Garner and Liberace.He learned some elements of his keyboard style from Tuts Washington and Edward Frank,[9] and was influenced by Professor Longhair and Ray Charles."[13] A few were jazz standards, "Tico-Tico" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street", but also pop rock, as in The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby, and country, Roger Miller's "King of the Road".These were "Cool Turkey" and "Gonzo" in 1960, "Smacksie" and "Kinda Happy" in 1960 and 1961, and "Tubby," "Cross my Heart" and "Big Nick," dates unknown between 1960 and 62.In September 1966, his sister died, at a time when Booker was compelled to go on touring despite this event, compounding loss with a lack of opportunity to mourn.Within weeks of her death, he was arrested outside the Dew Drop Inn hotel and nightclub for possession of heroin, which he had begun using earlier in the sixties.[30]Keber further explained that Europeans refer to jazz as "the art of the twentieth century" and suggests that the "classical tradition" that is present in the continent led to a greater understanding of Booker among audiences.[31] Following his success in Europe, Booker was forced to adjust to a lower level of public recognition, as he performed in cafes and bars.He was also subject to the social stigma that affected people who used illicit drugs and those with mental health issues during this era of American history.[10][30] At the end of October 1983, filmmaker Jim Gabour captured Booker's final concert performance for a series on the New Orleans music scene.The series, entitled Music City, was broadcast on Cox Cable and included footage from the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans and a six-and-a-half-minute improvisation called "Seagram's Jam."[32] Booker died aged 43 on November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair in the emergency room at New Orleans' Charity Hospital, waiting to receive medical attention.[32]The influential New Orleans musician, composer, and producer Allen Toussaint also praised Booker, applying the term "genius" to him:McDermott believes that Booker's skillful combination of vocal virtuosity with a magnificent emotional power superseded the singing of Frank Sinatra.[32] Writing for PopMatters in 2014, George de Stefano said: "And then there's James Booker, whose stature in New Orleans musical history can be gauged by the various nicknames bestowed on the gifted, troubled, openly gay musician: the Bayou Maharajah (the title of a new documentary film about the pianist), the Piano Pope, the Ivory Emperor, the Piano Prince of New Orleans.[39] Keber raised funds on the Kickstarter website to complete the film, as she needed to cover licensing costs to include all of the "concert footage, home movie, funky photo and unreleased audio" that she uncovered across the U.S. and Europe.Between December 2012 and January 2013, the Kickstarter campaign received US$18,323 from 271 backers—Keber's goal was US$15,000—who responded to the director's motivation: "After so many years of simmering in obscurity, it's time for James Booker to be introduced to the world!In addition to coverage of Booker's significant influence upon Connick and his collaborations with prominent artists, Keber also documents the musician's heroin use and the deterioration in his mental health.So we talked to a lot of people and those conversations led to boxes of old photographs and tapes, video and music libraries in the States and in Europe, and the vaults of television stations, record companies, and museums.