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 aged 23.

While attending a recording session with Rollins, Little met drummer Max Roach in 1955. Following the death of Clifford Brown the next year, Little became Roach’s trumpet player in his band Max Roach Four. Being in school interfered with the quality of his performance, and he was replaced by Kenny Dorham. Following graduation, Little rejoined Roach’s band, reclaiming his spot from Dorham in 1958. In that band, he reunited with one of his friends from Memphis, George Coleman. As trumpeter, Little made his recording debut on Max Roach + 4 on the Chicago Scene in June. He was featured on pieces like “My Old Flame“. Little recorded two more albums with the group, which Roach altered by replacing the piano with tuba player Ray Draper. On Max Roach + 4 at Newport, Little introduced his first composition, “Minor Mode”, and on “A Night in Tunisia” he was the main soloist. On their album, Deeds, Not Words, in the opening piece, “You Stepped Out of a Dream“, Little displayed his arranging skills, where the tenor sax, trumpet and tuba share similar voicings that created tension and sophisticated musicality within the unusual piano-less group. Little had a hand in the majority of the arranging on the Deeds, Not Words album.

In October, the group appeared on ABC‘s Stars of Jazz television program. Also during October, Little recorded his first album as a leader, Booker Little 4 and Max Roach (also known as The Defiant Ones) with Roach on drums, Coleman on tenor, and Davis on bass (with Tommy Flanagan on piano). On The Defiant Ones, Little played three of his original pieces, “Rounders Mode”, “Dungeons Waltz”, and “Jewels Tempo”. Following his first album as leader, Little and Max Roach + 4 recorded one more album before the end of 1958 titled Award-Winning Drummer under Roach’s name and another titled Many Sides of Max Roach in 1959 (the second album was not released until 1964). Many Sides of Max Roach was the last album Booker Little recorded with Roach’s group until 1960. After years of physical pain, Little died of complications resulting from uremia on October 5, 1961, in New York City at the age 23. He was survived by his wife, two sons Booker T. III and Larry Cornelius, and two daughters Cornelia and Ana Dorsey.