Tina Brooks

Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks ( born June 7, 1932 in Fayetteville, North Carolina; † August 13, 1974 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist of the hard bop.

Life and work

Brooks moved with his parents in 1944 in the Bronx. He first learned alto saxophone and tenor saxophone at school and with his older brother " Bubba" and had his first engagement in 1950 in the rhythm and blues band of pianist Sonny Thompson. Unhappy with his role as a sideman (for example, 1955 in the big band of Lionel Hampton) he takes knowledge development sessions and is finally introduced as a protégé of the trumpeter "Little " Benny Harris to the hard bop ( with Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon as role models ) with a commitment in a small theater in the Bronx, the "Blue Morocco ". There hears him the producer Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records, which makes him first in 1957 as a sideman for Jimmy Smith recordings. He takes there later as a sideman for Kenny Burrell, Freddie Hubbard (the two met at mediation by Ike Quebec in Count Basie 's Club know and Hubbard liked him so, that he invited him for his debut album Open Sesame ), Jackie McLean and Freddie Redd and makes 1958-1961 four albums as a leader, but of which during his lifetime only True Blue was released, a major work of the hard bop on which he leaves behind not only as an improviser, but also as a composer and arranger his trademark. Although the other albums were all produced finished and were partly announced in the program, they were not released by Blue Note. Apparently played here (as not infrequently at Blue Note Records ) commercial considerations play a role ( at the same time was mined at the Blue Note hard bop tenor and Blakey man Hank Mobley ).

McLean and Redd played on the albums of Brooks. Redd also wrote the music for the 1960 at the Living Theatre in New York City played very well received by critics theater play The Connection by Jack Gelber, in which Brooks was only the replacement of McLean, but on the published subsequently Album by Howard McGhee and Red starred. Ironically, it 's the play about drug junkies. Brooks himself was dependent and had drug - related health problems. After 1961 ( when they dropped it on Blue Note ), he no longer took on. He was still playing with rhythm and blues and Latino bands and occasionally with jazz musicians like Elmo Hope and Don Pullen, died in 1974 but completely forgot to liver failure at 42. His music experienced only in the 1980s made ​​a comeback, as the " embezzled " Blue Note albums came out in Japan.

Discography (selection)

As a leader on Blue Note:

• Minor Move ( 1958) ( with Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins )
• True Blue (1960) ( with Hubbard (tr), Duke Jordan ( p), Sam Jones ( b ), Art Taylor (dr ) )
• Back to the Tracks (1960) ( with Blue Mitchell, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor )
• The Waiting Game ( 1961)

Collection

• The Complete Blue Note Recordings of the Tina Brooks Quintets (1958-1961) - ( Mosaic - 1985) - 4 LPs with Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Duke Jordan, Sam Jones, Art Taylor, Jackie McLean, Blue Mitchell, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, Johnny Coles, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones

As a sideman:

• Jimmy Smith The Sermon! (1957)
• Jimmy Smith Cool Blues (1958 )
• Freddie Hubbard Open Sesame (1960 )
• Jackie McLean Street Singer ( 1960)
• Jackie McLean Jackie's Bag ( 1960)
• Howard McGhee, Freddie Red Music From The Connection (1960 )
• Kenny Burrell Blue lights, Vol.1, 2 ( 1958) (then published with cover of yet unknown Andy Warhol)