Junior Cook
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Born
Jul 22, 1934 in Pensacola, FL
Died
Feb 3, 1992 in New York, NY
An expert hard bop tenor saxophone player, Junior Cook was always a solid improviser. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook gained some fame for his longtime membership in the Horace Silver Quintet (1958-1964); when he and Blue Mitchell left the popular band, Cook played in Mitchell's quintet (1964-1969). Later associations included Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, George Coleman, Louis Hayes (1975-1976), Bill Hardman (1979-1981), and the McCoy Tyner big band. In addition to many appearances as a sideman, Junior Cook recorded as a leader for Jazzland (1961), Catalyst (1977), Muse, and SteepleChase.
According to some rumors, Junior Cook and Joe Henderson shared a flat in the early sixties, something that probably has to do to the marginal stylistic similarity between these two. Junior Cook had a complete command of his instrument, with a thick hard-edged tone and a great capability of playing the chord changes. It is almost a mystery why he never gained the fame that he deserved. This probably has to do with his reluctance to participate in the avantgarde and free-jazz styles that emerged in the '60s. Despite the fact that gained some fame between bop fans during his last years of his life, Junior Cook died alone in his apartment in New York, according to the testimony of the Sun Ra trumpeter Mra Oma.He was suffering from depression and the non-uncommon bitterness in the music world that he never had the fame that he deserved. In that sense, he had a similar fate with his longtime friend, trumpeter Bill Hardman.
