::: friends ::: juini booth

Juini Booth with John Farris

A professional bassist since age 16, Juini Booth has expanded the range of the instrument into a refined personal language of intense acousitic awareness and spatiality of sound. Firmly rooted in the forefront of the American jazz tradition, which he has helped to shape, Booth’s music has come to include influences from world music, emerging beyond the boundaries of categories to express the poetics of universal humanness. His compositions reflect a masterful use of simple melodic themes developed through unexpected harmonies, unusual tonal qualities and time relationships, inviting the listener to a new level of musical perception.

Juini Booth has performed and toured for over 30 years working with jazz musicians such as Art Blakly and the Jazz Messengers, Tony Williams’ Lifetime, Coleman Hawkins, Albert Ayler, Chuck Mangione, Sun Ra and McCoy Tyner.

This interview was conducted at NuBlu on July 1, 2005.

JOHN FARRIS: So, uh, Juini Booth -

JUINI BOOTH: Uh, yeah...

JF: I’ve heard some people try to call you Junior. I understand your name is Junius. Is that true?

JB: None of it is true.

JF: That would be too much like a doctor – Dr. Junius Booth.

JB: Nobody refers to me as Junius.

JF: I heard someone refer to you as that one day and you corrected them. A person who was making a film about Sonny Simmons, the altoist.

JB: John the facts are kind of strange because first of all this interview has come to an end because it’s going nowhere.

JF: OK, let’s talk about music.

JB: Uh, yes.

JF: But, first are you from Buffalo?

JB: Yes, I was born in Buffalo and I came to New York to play music at an early age to be a bass player with great bands. I came to New York and was able to do that.

JF: You were able to do that with all the great bands, at least a lot of them. You worked with...name some of them.

JB: I worked with so many different people you would have to go by instruments. You would have to say Oh saxophones, or guitarists, or whatever.

JF: What were your favorite formats or bands?

JB: It would have to be Tony Williams’ Lifetime with Khalid Yassim (Larry Young). There were other people as well – Jerry Gonzalez at one time and Warren Smith. Joe Chambers came into the band. We did a couple of dates in Europe, the West Coast and that. And due to some problems that band died out, but it was one of my favorite bands.

JF: Why was that one of your favorite bands?

JB: Well, it was because of Tony Williams himself. He was such a dynamo and he was such a pleasure to play with. The music was intense. It was high-tension and the people who played it were incredible practioners on their instruments. I played with him and some other people as well. McCoy Tyner was a favorite of mine as well. He was so dynamic as well. It was like the individuals who I played with there were so dynamic with their instrument it was easy to play with them and fun as well.

JF: You sound a bit nostalgic.

JB: You took me back over 30 years so of course I am nostalgic. So if you were to ask me about something that is going on now, I could talk about that without nostalgia. I could be futuristic if you like.

JF: Here we are at NuBlu. Fast-forward 20 years. So what’s going on now?

JB: It’s an amazing thing. Ilhan decided to open up this club. For a long time I was just hanging out and hanging around. And then finally one day they needed a bass player so he called me to his establishment. They thought I would fit in pretty good that I was able to adapt to what was going on at NuBlu with the drummers and the programmed beats.

JF: I was about to ask you that. What would you say were the primary differences between then and now? Would you say it was the technology?

JB: No, it wasn’t the technology.

JF: When you say programmed beats –

JB: It’s playing with pre-programmed music and –-

JF: What modifications have you had to make to to fit into that?

JB: I bleed it. I bleed it death because it’s like a robot. You have conform to the robot. But, the best robot that can do it well kind of blends in to what you do. I mean, you have to go with the robot up to a certain point and then you have to take back control. So that’s pretty much what I do. I go along with it to a certain point and then I take it and some other forms and by playing the acoustic bass it fits well in there actually. It has the tonal structure for the dynamic of the music that’s not to loud and not to rock and roll, but still inner groovy, halfway in between trying to be –

JF: So this is more funk-oriented – tonight you work with a band you put together? What band is it?

JB: Yes

JF: What band is it?

JB: This is a band consisting of Diantoni Parks on drums, Lidell Mackland on guitar and myself, Juini Booth, on bass. We’re drum and bass plus guitar.

JF: All right. How is that different from what your history was? The beats, the technology...?

JB: It’s the whole style. The style of the music. Basically, the music is free form and doesn’t have to be prearranged too much. Jazz is pretty much form. And then there was a time when it became free form. And when it became electric music it wanted be free form as well. Playing avant-garde, little points but with beats. People are loving it. They go wild with all the weird notes because you give people a chance to think for themselves because everything is thought out for them, the music, the movies, everything is just thought out and your brain is just suckered and people don’t get a chance to use their brains. So they appreciate this.

JF: So, what other bands do you work with at NuBlu?

JB: Recently, there was a birthday celebration – an anniversary for the three years they have been open. URoy came in from Kingston the other night and did a night. And Erik Truffaz came in from Switzerland to do a night right after him. It was really nice, I enjoyed it very much.

JF: How did you meet Ilhan?

JB: Oh, I met Ilhan at Kasimir, a restaurant and bar on Avenue B where we both hung out. A lot of people would hang out there. Some real jazz fans owned the place so there would be a lot of jazz people hanging out there.

JF: So what keeps you playing this music? What impresses you the most about it?

JB: Well, what impresses me the most is the proximity to the audience. There is no stage and you have these people dancing around while you’re playing. You’re playing for them. And they become a little more sophisticated in their listening. And they appreciate a live performance, like say when a DJ is playing. There’s a lot of people dancing and that’s it. But when a live band is playing plays in between that people appreciate. And I appreciate watching the people have a good time. And it’s a newfound thing. I’ve never been so close to the audience without a stage and everything.


					Brazilian Girls Butch Norris Chantal Ughi Charles Stella Clark Gayton Dj Hardedge DJ Renochild Eddie Henderson ElodieO Erik Truffaz Jochen Rueckert John Farris Juini Booth Karina Zeviani Kenny Wollesen Malik Burke Marla Turner Martin Ogolter Petar Santiago U-roy	Juini Booth with John Farris A professional bassist since age 16, Juini Booth has expanded the range of the instrument into a refined personal language of intense acousitic awareness and spatiality of sound. Firmly rooted in the forefront of the American jazz tradition, which he has helped to shape, Booth’s music has come to include influences from world music, emerging beyond the boundaries of categories to express the poetics of universal humanness. His compositions reflect a masterful use of simple melodic themes developed through unexpected harmonies, unusual tonal qualities and time relationships, inviting the listener to a new level of musical perception. Juini Booth has performed and toured for over 30 years working with jazz musicians such as Art Blakly and the Jazz Messengers, Tony Williams’ Lifetime, Coleman Hawkins, Albert Ayler, Chuck Mangione, Sun Ra and McCoy Tyner. This interview was conducted at NuBlu on July 1, 2005. JOHN FARRIS: So, uh, Juini Booth - JUINI BOOTH: Uh, yeah... JF: I’ve heard some people try to call you Junior. I understand your name is Junius. Is that true? JB: None of it is true. JF: That would be too much like a doctor – Dr. Junius Booth. JB: Nobody refers to me as Junius. JF: I heard someone refer to you as that one day and you corrected them. A person who was making a film about Sonny Simmons, the altoist. JB: John the facts are kind of strange because first of all this interview has come to an end because it’s going nowhere. JF: OK, let’s talk about music. JB: Uh, yes. JF: But, first are you from Buffalo? JB: Yes, I was born in Buffalo and I came to New York to play music at an early age to be a bass player with great bands. I came to New York and was able to do that. JF: You were able to do that with all the great bands, at least a lot of them. You worked with...name some of them. JB: I worked with so many different people you would have to go by instruments. You would have to say Oh saxophones, or guitarists, or whatever. JF: What were your favorite formats or bands? JB: It would have to be Tony Williams’ Lifetime with Khalid Yassim (Larry Young). There were other people as well – Jerry Gonzalez at one time and Warren Smith. Joe Chambers came into the band. We did a couple of dates in Europe, the West Coast and that. And due to some problems that band died out, but it was one of my favorite bands. JF: Why was that one of your favorite bands? JB: Well, it was because of Tony Williams himself. He was such a dynamo and he was such a pleasure to play with. The music was intense. It was high-tension and the people who played it were incredible practioners on their instruments. I played with him and some other people as well. McCoy Tyner was a favorite of mine as well. He was so dynamic as well. It was like the individuals who I played with there were so dynamic with their instrument it was easy to play with them and fun as well. JF: You sound a bit nostalgic. JB: You took me back over 30 years so of course I am nostalgic. So if you were to ask me about something that is going on now, I could talk about that without nostalgia. I could be futuristic if you like. JF: Here we are at NuBlu. Fast-forward 20 years. So what’s going on now? JB: It’s an amazing thing. Ilhan decided to open up this club. For a long time I was just hanging out and hanging around. And then finally one day they needed a bass player so he called me to his establishment. They thought I would fit in pretty good that I was able to adapt to what was going on at NuBlu with the drummers and the programmed beats. JF: I was about to ask you that. What would you say were the primary differences between then and now? Would you say it was the technology? JB: No, it wasn’t the technology. JF: When you say programmed beats – JB: It’s playing with pre-programmed music and –- JF: What modifications have you had to make to to fit into that? JB: I bleed it. I bleed it death because it’s like a robot. You have conform to the robot. But, the best robot that can do it well kind of blends in to what you do. I mean, you have to go with the robot up to a certain point and then you have to take back control. So that’s pretty much what I do. I go along with it to a certain point and then I take it and some other forms and by playing the acoustic bass it fits well in there actually. It has the tonal structure for the dynamic of the music that’s not to loud and not to rock and roll, but still inner groovy, halfway in between trying to be – JF: So this is more funk-oriented – tonight you work with a band you put together? What band is it? JB: Yes JF: What band is it? JB: This is a band consisting of Diantoni Parks on drums, Lidell Mackland on guitar and myself, Juini Booth, on bass. We’re drum and bass plus guitar. JF: All right. How is that different from what your history was? The beats, the technology...? JB: It’s the whole style. The style of the music. Basically, the music is free form and doesn’t have to be prearranged too much. Jazz is pretty much form. And then there was a time when it became free form. And when it became electric music it wanted be free form as well. Playing avant-garde, little points but with beats. People are loving it. They go wild with all the weird notes because you give people a chance to think for themselves because everything is thought out for them, the music, the movies, everything is just thought out and your brain is just suckered and people don’t get a chance to use their brains. So they appreciate this. JF: So, what other bands do you work with at NuBlu? JB: Recently, there was a birthday celebration – an anniversary for the three years they have been open. URoy came in from Kingston the other night and did a night. And Erik Truffaz came in from Switzerland to do a night right after him. It was really nice, I enjoyed it very much. JF: How did you meet Ilhan? JB: Oh, I met Ilhan at Kasimir, a restaurant and bar on Avenue B where we both hung out. A lot of people would hang out there. Some real jazz fans owned the place so there would be a lot of jazz people hanging out there. JF: So what keeps you playing this music? What impresses you the most about it? JB: Well, what impresses me the most is the proximity to the audience. There is no stage and you have these people dancing around while you’re playing. You’re playing for them. And they become a little more sophisticated in their listening. And they appreciate a live performance, like say when a DJ is playing. There’s a lot of people dancing and that’s it. But when a live band is playing plays in between that people appreciate. And I appreciate watching the people have a good time. And it’s a newfound thing. I’ve never been so close to the audience without a stage and everything.