Frank Foster (jazz musician)

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Frank Foster (left) and Dan Morgenstern

Frank Foster (born September 23, 1928 in Cincinnati , Ohio , † July 26, 2011 in Chesapeake , Virginia ) was an American jazz musician (tenor and soprano saxophone , arrangement and composition), especially from his time with Count Basie is known.

Live and act

Foster studied at Wilberforce University and began in Detroit in 1949 to play with musicians there such as Wardell Gray and Elvin Jones . After military service (from 1951) he went to the Count Basie Orchestra in 1953 , where he played tenor saxophone (like Frank Wess , but more in the style of Lester Young , while Wess played more in the style of Coleman Hawkins ). He also arranged for Basie and composed pieces such as Shiny Stockings , Blues Backstage , Down for the count . He also played in sessions outside of the band, e.g. B. with Thelonious Monk 1954 ( MONK ). In 1961 he worked on Elmo Hope's album Homecoming! With. After leaving Count Basie in 1964, he composed a. a. for Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra . 1970 to 1972 he played with Elvin Jones, 1972 to 1975 with the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra . He also formed his own groups (as well as a quintet with Frank Wess in 1983) and the Living Color and The Loud Minority Bigbands, with whom he toured Europe and Japan. In 1985 he toured Europe with the Jimmy Smith quintet . 1986 to 1995 he succeeded Thad Jones as head of the Basie big band. Then he revived his The Loud Minority Bigband (with pianist Danny Mixon ). He last lived in Chesapeake, Virginia , where he died in 2011 of complications from kidney failure.

In 2002 he received the Jazz Masters Fellowship from the state NEA Foundation .

Discographic notes

  • 1953: Here Comes Frank Foster ( Blue Note )
  • 1965: Fearless Frank Foster ( Prestige )
  • 1968: Manhattan Fever (Blue Note)
  • 1971: The Loud Minority (Mainstream, 1974)
  • 1977/1978: Shiny Stockings ( Denon )
  • 1982: The House That Love Built (Steeple Chase)
  • 1983: Two for the Blues ( Pablo )
  • 1984: Frankly Speaking ( Concord Jazz )
  • 1996: Leo Rising (Arabesque)
  • 1998: Swing (live) (Challenge)
  • 2003: We Do It Diff'rent (live) ( Mapleshade , with Dennis Rowland )
  • 2007: Well Water (Piadrum)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.longislandpress.com/2011/07/27/saxophonist-frank-foster-dies-played-with-basie/  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective . Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.longislandpress.com  
  2. ^ Biography of Frank Foster at the NEA Foundation ( Memento from October 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
personal data
SURNAME Foster, Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 2011
Place of death Chesapeake , Virginia