Al Foster

It sounds more like he plays what sounds the best to his ears, but like many musicians will accept help from those who are willing. Lots of working musicians do it.

Also, I'm near positive I read an article about him losing a bag full of his favorite 602's sometime over the past two years. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Thanks for the info on the SCDR though, I didn't know about that one.
 
No it doesnt sound like that at all. You obviously know NOTHING about Al Foster...

I was just being a little goofy with that post. But seriously, I'm pretty sure that he if has an endorsement agreement with Zildjian he's not supposed to play Paiste cymbals in public. Maybe that's not something they really enforce or maybe that's not the way it works. Supposedly Neil Peart played a Wuhan china when he was endorsing Zildjian and apparently nobody at Zildjian objected. But now he's playing Sabian and he plays a Sabian china from his own signature line. I guess that's a little different because Neil Peart has his own Sabian line and he gets a percentage of the profits as far as I know. I've only seen Al Foster once, and from where I was sitting I couldn't tell what he was playing. Either way, he clearly makes them sound great.
 
I was just being a little goofy with that post. But seriously, I'm pretty sure that he if has an endorsement agreement with Zildjian he's not supposed to play Paiste cymbals in public. Maybe that's not something they really enforce or maybe that's not the way it works. Supposedly Neil Peart played a Wuhan china when he was endorsing Zildjian and apparently nobody at Zildjian objected. But now he's playing Sabian and he plays a Sabian china from his own signature line. I guess that's a little different because Neil Peart has his own Sabian line and he gets a percentage of the profits as far as I know. I've only seen Al Foster once, and from where I was sitting I couldn't tell what he was playing. Either way, he clearly makes them sound great.

Cool. I understand.
The thing about Al you have to understand is that he is so far above the business end of endorsements. He is about the music.
Bascially, I think he worked it out with Zildjian so that he plays some Z hihats and a crash but still keeps playing his Paiste ride. They tried to duplicate the sound but couldnt and Al is known for that signature ride sound.
 
Bump time

I might finally see him live...

Friday, November 9 in NYC at the Iridium

als0

I finally bought a 22" Sound Creation Dark Ride just like Als

I love playing this cymbal!
 
I finally got to see Al Foster live.

I sat 8-10 feet directly in front of his drumkit.

It was BETTER than I thought it would be, which is saying a lot since I think Al is the greatest.

Al holds the sticks REAL loose. The tips of his sticks are sanded down so the attack is woody and mellow and dark.

Also, his Sound Creation Dark Ride is a special one. The edges are very thin and crashable, unlike the many many other SCDR.....the stick sound and bell are similar to mine but his had GOT to be very thin. (It actually inspired me to SELL my SCDR because I know Im going to spend the rest of my giggin life going..."I wish I had a thin, jazzy one like Al's)
Also it erased all the MYSTIC that this cymbal sound is ALL IN HIS HANDS AND TOUCH....bunk....Al would sound like Al on ANY cymbal but this SCDR IS different....he got a gem.

Actually I could see the lathing patterns from the underside of the cymbal which means the cymbal is thinner than most...

Al is very musical and listens constantly.

The things that really inspired me the other night were as follows
1. His listening ability and sensitivity
2. His LIGHT touch and ability to get 1,000 sounds out of all his instruments and colors
3. His phrasing....NOT what you would expect
4. His use of dynamics
5. He is a GREAT drum soloist. On par, (in my opinion) with Max Roach.


If you get to see him do it!
 
Yes! And I want to thank you for those.

I forgot to mention I shook Al's hand and we talked about Max Roach, and my friend Mike Melito talked to him about Art Taylor and Art Blakey etc...

I also forgot to mention....Al is in the "ZONE" when he plays....he never is distracted...he is so focused....this was inspirational and next time I play Im going to shoot for being in the zone always.
 
There's a great piece on Al Foster over at music.npr.org
It his audio of a full live performance at the Village Vangaurd with his quartet and like a forty minute interview.
They have a couple of other ones up too, and they're doing a Brian Blade Fellowship set tomorrow night.
Check it out.
 
I know this thread is old, but I saw Al Foster last night with his quartet at Birdland. What an experience!

He played some of the most beautiful music I've ever seen. So musical and played with so much expression! Comped the bass and piano and sax beautifully and swung as hard as anyone. I sat four feet from the drum set looking at him from the side. He had his eyes closed and a huge smile on his face the entire show. Made lots of mistakes (assumably as a result of his age), but turned every single one of them into music. He'd go for something and when he couldn't finish it properly, he'd laugh, and then just repeat that mistake it make it sound musical.

Chatted with him for twenty minutes after the show and he's just such a beautiful soul. Such a great person. My uncle told him about going to watch Elvin at the Vanguard twenty years ago, and he could never get the seat closest to Elvin since he (Foster) was always in that seat, so my uncle would sit right behind him every time he'd go and see Elvin. He was also so thrilled that a young, beginning drummer was into jazz and coming to see him play live.

It was a lot of long handshakes, laughs, and hugs after the show, and then rushing to catch the train. He provided a musical experience I will not ever forget!

I wanted to extend my stay here in New York to go see Jack DeJohnette play his 70th Birthday Concert in Woodstock tomorrow night, but it would have been too expensive. This made up for it in a big way!
 
Last year, at the start of the COVID horror, my wife and I --anticipating the coming months-- bought a big flat-screened television with sound system to go with it. Didn't know what I was missing. My wife goes to bed early. I punch up You Tube and play vids of my favorite musicians. For the last two nights I've been listening to Joe Henderson, the trio he had with Dave Holland and Al Foster. Watching the vid on the telly with the superior sound brought me to a new level of appreciation of Al Foster. The way he listens, serves the music, but exhibits mastery and technique as well. For living drummers, Al, Roy, and Jack D. are the Three Kings of jazz drumming. Punch up You Tube and write in Joe Henderson y todavia la quiero and see a great drummer play perfectly.
 
My main experience listening to Foster is his stuff with Henderson and of course his time with Miles Davis, both pre- and post-retirement.

Here's a brief clip of him with Sonny Rollins, not only playing great but looking so damn cool at the same time:

 
where's @tkillian @tkillian alert alert alert @tkillian

live at MezzoPiano----->>
4/01/2022


Al's SC DarK is giving the flat slim Cym Stand 5 minutes of trouble ^^
 
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