Booker Telleferro Ervin II (born October 31, 1930, Denison, Texas; died July 31, 1970, New York City[1]) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus. Ervin was born in Denison, Texas and after teaching himself tenor saxophone while in the United States Air Force moved to the Boston area and studied at Berklee College of Music. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing, perhaps inspired by growing up in the south.