Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He appeared on many recordings in his short career, both as a sideman and as a leader. Little performed with Max Roach, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy and was strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. He died at age 23.

Booker Little Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Booker, a Pullman porter who was a trombonist, and his wife Ophelia Little, who was a church organist. He also was the brother of Helena, Vivian, and Vera Little (Vera later sung with the London Opera Company). From a musically inclined family, Little naturally gravitated towards music. Like his father, he attempted to learn the trombone but instead choose clarinet at the age of 12. At 14, he finally settled on trumpet as his band director urged him play trumpet. In 1952, Little attended Manassas High School where he would begin his development on trumpet and later on graduate. Being in a city like Memphis, Little was able to grow his talent with other young musicians during that time such as Phineas Newborn Jr., George Coleman, Frank Strozier, and his cousin Louis Smith. After graduating, he moved to Chicago, Illinoisto continue his studies at the Chicago Conservatory in 1954. At the conservatory, he continued studying trumpet but also incorporated studies in composition, theory, and orchestration with a minor in piano. He would later on graduate with a bachelors degree in trumpet. As a sophomore, Little met Sonny Rollins. For about nine months, they both stayed at the YMCA where Rollins would influence Little greatly by encouraging him to find his own sound versus mimicking other musicians.