Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
In Memoriam: Al Foster, 1943–2025
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Pinch Point seems like a similar conceit to Rummage Out, but they sound totally different.
Pinch Point is like the culmination of a lot of efforts with Bill and Jay. I owe them a lot, because they’ve been my most consistent collaborators over the last couple years. They were the first people that I collaborated with [in Chicago], and what we set out to do initially was to be a band that only improvised. We wanted it to be this trio that had no leader, and we kept getting together and trying to rehearse, improvise, rehearse; improvising over and over and over again. And eventually, we realized that we needed to write tunes just so that we could get into the improvising and develop a sound together.
The premise of City In A Garden lends itself to additional volumes. So, is that an idea that you’re going to revisit, structuring an album that way?
I’m really happy with the way that it turned out, so it could be something to do again. But right now, it feels very much like out of the three big records that I put out last year—and now with Pinch Point, it feels like I have to take a step back and maybe do something smaller. Not necessarily less ambitious, but just smaller in scope. So, maybe more duo stuff with one musician or something that’s the opposite of asking seven people to record, which is a rather daunting task. DB
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
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