Bassist Juini Booth known for his work with the Sun Ra Arkestra, McCoy Tyner and Gary Bartz has died

A long time Sun Ra Arkestra bassist Juini Booth has died. He was 73. No cause of death is known. Tributes online include this from guitarist Kurt Ronsenwinkel: ''We hung out a lot in NY and Berlin. He was such [a] cool dude and a great musician, …

Published: 14 Jul 2021. Updated: 2 years.

A long time Sun Ra Arkestra bassist Juini Booth has died. He was 73. No cause of death is known. Tributes online include this from guitarist Kurt Ronsenwinkel: ''We hung out a lot in NY and Berlin. He was such [a] cool dude and a great musician, his spirit was so positive and full of love and grace. I always felt grateful to know him and will carry his smile within my heart.''

Spike Wilner of Smalls writes evocatively on Facebook that ''The news about bassist Juini Booth passing… kind of took the wind out of my sails. I've known Juini since I was a young man and he was always very kind to me. I remember the first time I'd ever even heard of Juini Booth was when I was 18 years old and knew the McCoy Tyner Live at Montreux with Juini Booth on bass. He gets a long and rhapsodic bass solo interlude between McCoy's expansive compositions. Playing with a beautiful tone and soulful melody - it's one of those solos that has stayed inside me all my musical life. The first time I met him on the streets of the East Village, at some session in some dive bar, I couldn't believe I was meeting him. I sang his solo for him note for note. He looked pleased and smiled. From that time we were always friends and he always called me "Michael" rather than my more familiar nickname, Spike. As I developed over the years we were friendly and did play together on occasion. When I took over Smalls I began to book his groups through the years. He always had a friendly and affectionate "hello, Michael", whenever I saw him. More recently I saw him during the blur that was COVID. He came by the club when New York was deserted and offered words of encouragement. His peaceful and gentle demeanor and slender frame - with beboppers heart and the soul of the warrior musician. I will miss this person and another window in the rapidly fading old New York.''

Booth's early career work included with Chuck Mangione in the mid-1960s and later Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Gary Bartz, Tony Williams' Lifetime, McCoy Tyner and touring in Japan with Masabumi Kikuchi.

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Obsidian and Zami introduce Moor Mother's Black Encyclopedia Of The Air

Very out-there, blistering, uncompromising tracks from this autumn's Moor Mother album Black Encyclopedia Of The Air (-Anti) are streaming. Joining the US breakthrough avant poet-performer is experimental UK vocalist, BBC Radio 3 presenter, and …

Published: 13 Jul 2021. Updated: 2 years.

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Very out-there, blistering, uncompromising tracks from this autumn's Moor Mother album Black Encyclopedia Of The Air (-Anti) are streaming. Joining the US breakthrough avant poet-performer is experimental UK vocalist, BBC Radio 3 presenter, and newly announced Wigmore Hall artist Elaine Mitchener heard on the excellent springtime album Some Good News who guests on 'Clock Fight' although that track so far isn't available. Listening to what is available all I can think of is Sun Ra, Jayne Cortez, and maybe The Last Poets in the sound with an intensity within the internal drama of the by times hip-hop laced work as jumping-off points but then all bets and guesses are to be completely set aside.

For now check out ‘Obsidian’ and 'Zami' named after Audre Lorde's 1982 book Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.

Album featured artists also include Elucid, Antonia Gabriela, Brother May, Lojii, Bfly, Pink Siifu, Nappy Nina, Maassai, Orion Sun, Yatta, Black Quantum Futurism and Dudu Kouate.

Moor Mother, who also guests on the latest Sons of Kemet album Black to the Future, is pictured top. Photo: -Anti