Al Foster

catchagato

Senior Member
Has anyone been to Al Foster's bio page on this site? I notice that he sets up his cymbals fairly high and they tilt very steep and it's gotten me pretty curious as to why he does that. I think it's probably because he feels most comfortable playing that way, but do you get a better sound when you hit the cymbal when it's tilted at that angle? Or what? Lemme know what you guys think! Here's the link to his bio page:
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Al_Foster.html
 
There are a couple reasons why he could be doing this.
1. Projection. At that angle, the sound of the ride is going directly into the audience, not down. Think of it as hearing the cymbal from the bottom only.

2. Look at how close he can put them to himself and his drums so as to reach any part of the cymbal without stretching. The edge or playing area isn't as far up as you think.

3. Stick attack. Like Jon Christensen, Al uses the 'tippin' technique on his cymbal- hitting the cymbal more with the tip of the bead rather than the full bead.

4. Feel. At that angle you are actually pushing the stick to the cymbal rather than letting it drop. Al (like Christensen, Eric Gravatt and others) obviously dig this.
Lochday, your drum teacher is wrong. If it was comfortable to you, then it was the right thing to do.

G
 
Thanks for some of your thoughts on this! I can see where you're going with the cymbal sound projecting outward toward the audience. It's like the bottom of the cymbals is like a speaker or a subwoofer, and if they're tilted vertically then the sound is just blasting out away from you and into the crowd. I never thought of it that way...
 
I don't have anything to add other than that Al Foster swings his ass off on Blue Mitchell's album "The Thing to Do."

Gene Taylor plays the bass like a man. No amp, dammit!
 
Thanks Jazzgreg for your illuminating post. I suspected projection at that angle was modified the way you say but I was far from imagining the impact on feel, stick attack, and comfort. The reason why I stopped using the Al Foster cymbal setting is all what I read about how such a so-called bad vertical position of the cymbal was likely to impair its resonance and other things. I guess I'll try again the Foster way. Thanks again.
 
Ive been waiting for the Al Foster thread. It took me a little while to get into AL, but now Im hooked. Such a strong beat and one of the main things that I really like about him is how his listening really comes across in what hes playing, its always so direct and clear and creative. To my ears he sounds like hes coming directly from Max, Philly, Ed Blackwell, big emphasis on Blackwell and also Tony. Im not sayin he sounds like these cats and thats the beutiful thing is that Al Foster is moving things forword. No one tunes there drums like him also, Im not exactly sure on the exact degrees of the pitches but his way is kind of like a piano in some ways. I have heard that its pretty hard to watch him play though LOL, whatever like that really matters.
 
fly said:
Ive been waiting for the Al Foster thread. It took me a little while to get into AL, but now Im hooked. Such a strong beat and one of the main things that I really like about him is how his listening really comes across in what hes playing, its always so direct and clear and creative. To my ears he sounds like hes coming directly from Max, Philly, Ed Blackwell, big emphasis on Blackwell and also Tony. Im not sayin he sounds like these cats and thats the beutiful thing is that Al Foster is moving things forword. No one tunes there drums like him also, Im not exactly sure on the exact degrees of the pitches but his way is kind of like a piano in some ways. I have heard that its pretty hard to watch him play though LOL, whatever like that really matters.


A buddy of mine met him in the market around the corner from Small's a few years ago. He told Al how much he liked that Blue Mitchell record. Al said that, at the time, he was infatuated with Art Taylor's playing. A.T. was known as THE cymbal guy, so maybe that's partly where Al's strong beat came from.

My other favorite Al Foster is on Joe Henderson's "The State of the Tenor" albums. Good stuff. Joe Hen said that Al was his all time favorite drummer to play with. That's quite an endorsement, coming from a guy who's played with Roy, Elvin, Tony, etc.!
 
Wow, I just found this thread about my idol and favorite drummer Al Foster.
I just bought my 64th Al Foster CD!!!!

The reason Al's cymbal is so tiltled is explained by him in his last MD interview. When he was young he saw Art Taylor drums on stage. Art had his cymbal tilted like that and it "looked" like it was real high. So he went home and did the same. Thing was Art sat real HIGH so the cymbal was actually at a normal height. Al said he just got into the habit and it stuck and that because its not good for his back he is trying to change it but....

I am going to see Al at the village vanguard at the end of the month. Ill make a little review of the gig here. Of course I cant wait to see and hear him.

Tom Killian
 
tkillian said:
Wow, I just found this thread about my idol and favorite drummer Al Foster.
I just bought my 64th Al Foster CD!!!!

The reason Al's cymbal is so tiltled is explained by him in his last MD interview. When he was young he saw Art Taylor drums on stage. Art had his cymbal tilted like that and it "looked" like it was real high. So he went home and did the same. Thing was Art sat real HIGH so the cymbal was actually at a normal height. Al said he just got into the habit and it stuck and that because its not good for his back he is trying to change it but....

I am going to see Al at the village vanguard at the end of the month. Ill make a little review of the gig here. Of course I cant wait to see and hear him.

Tom Killian

KingHarvest here----I read the same thing Tom about the cymbals. I have his playing on the Miles electric stuff and some great swinging on a Steve Kahn album.
 
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tkillian said:
Wow, I just found this thread about my idol and favorite drummer Al Foster.
I just bought my 64th Al Foster CD!!!!

The reason Al's cymbal is so tiltled is explained by him in his last MD interview. When he was young he saw Art Taylor drums on stage. Art had his cymbal tilted like that and it "looked" like it was real high. So he went home and did the same. Thing was Art sat real HIGH so the cymbal was actually at a normal height. Al said he just got into the habit and it stuck and that because its not good for his back he is trying to change it but....

I am going to see Al at the village vanguard at the end of the month. Ill make a little review of the gig here. Of course I cant wait to see and hear him.

Tom Killian
TOM!!!!
Welcome over here, man-glad to have you aboard!
G
 
Thanks. Not to overkill the Al Foster thing ( I like lots of other drummers) but this is SO cool that people are even talking about him at drummerworld.

I have a VHS of the Verve Salutes the Jazz Masters Live at Carnegie Hall. Anyone ever see that? He plays with Christian McBride, Charlie Haden, Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, Steven Scott, Roy Hargrove, Betty Carter.

Whew.....he is SO fun to watch...smiling the whole time like Billy Higgins (one of my other ALL TIME favorite drummers).

The Sound Creation Dark Ride is not miked to well and is kind of "trebley" and high pitched washy overtones...

My favorite part is watching him play the bossa nova with the brush on the tom tom (eight-two sixteenths) while playing the clave rythym on the snare rim as normal...very hip...I use that beat all the time.

His green yammies sound great though I think

okay back to normal
 
I agree it's nice to see Al Foster getting some recognition.....

I was reading an old MD article from the mod-80s the other day................In Foster's feature interview he was so modest -- what a down to earth guy!!!...... He kept praising Tony Williams and Steve Gadd, saying that he wasn't in their league............He also talked about how he was always trying to find HIS sound and do something unique on the drums. It was a really interesting article (unlike some MD interviews, which usually give a brief bio of the player, followed by a couple of decent questions, then a few pages about gear).

At that time, Foster said he wanted to play straight ahead stuff and didn't care if he played fusion any more... It was interesting just to hear him talk candidly about his weaknesses too............ For instance, he noted that in terms of hand technique, he rarely practiced single stroke rolls (because he said he was always really slow!), instead mainly just doubles................

I'd have to say it hasn't hurt his playing!!!!
 
bump...

Well, I never made it to the Vanguard...

Its so weird Ive NEVER seen Al live and he is my favorite drummer!

I HAVE to do it...

Anyone ever see Al Foster live?
 
I am so pleased to see an Al Foster thread. I've loved his playing since my earliest days. A great swinging, listening and thoughtful musician. I reckon he's one of the best. When his last interview in MD was out, I must admit I was sorry he wasn't the cover story.

64th Al Foster CD eh? Ha ha, many rockers make the cover of MD after putting out 5 or less albums. Bums on seats I suppose.
 
Anyone know what his situation is with cymbal endorsements? This video is supposedly from November 2004 and he's playing at least one Paiste:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hnDWMJr6Qng

But he's listed as a Zildjian endorser. That date might not be accurate, or he may have recently switched, or he simply may not have had any kind of agreement before - I'm not sure.
 
He's a Zildjian endorser and has been for some time, but I know he loves the paiste 602's. From what I understand his prized 602's were lost on a plane flight last year. Terrible stuff.

He could make garbage can lid sound incredible though.
 
2. Look at how close he can put them to himself and his drums so as to reach any part of the cymbal without stretching. The edge or playing area isn't as far up as you think.

4. Feel. At that angle you are actually pushing the stick to the cymbal rather than letting it drop. Al (like Christensen, Eric Gravatt and others) obviously dig this.
Lochday, your drum teacher is wrong. If it was comfortable to you, then it was the right thing to do.

I recently set up my ride on my 'big kit' this way, with a fairly extreme tilt to it, and so far I've found it to be very much to my liking, for the reasons you mention above. I'm close to the whole cymbal, don't have to reach for the bell, etc. Great ideas.
 
He's a Zildjian endorser and has been for some time, but I know he loves the paiste 602's. From what I understand his prized 602's were lost on a plane flight last year. Terrible stuff.

He could make garbage can lid sound incredible though.

He doesnt play Paiste 602's. His favorite main ride has always been a Paiste Sound Creation Dark Ride 22" which he still uses mixed in with some Zildjians.
He had Zildjian "copy" his Sound Creation Dark Ride and they slapped a K logo on it.

They got pretty close(you can hear it on ScoLoHoFo) but the SCDR has its own thing going on...which sounds great!
 
He doesnt play Paiste 602's. His favorite main ride has always been a Paiste Sound Creation Dark Ride 22" which he still uses mixed in with some Zildjians.
He had Zildjian "copy" his Sound Creation Dark Ride and they slapped a K logo on it.

It sounds like you're saying he's a little bit slutty when it comes to endorsements. He just kind of goes with what he can get and what gives him the most pleasure.
 
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