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…
Drummer Foreststorn “Chico” Hamilton will release Twelve Tones of Love April 14 on Joyous Shout! Adding to his 50-plus discography, Twelve Tones of Love celebrates Hamilton’s lifelong romance with music. Composed for and performed with an enlarged ensemble, the album offers a glimpse into Hamilton’s interpersonal relationships both past and present.
Hamilton will appear at a free in-store performance and album April 30 at the Columbus Circle Borders bookstore in New York to promote the new album.
Opening and closing Twelve Tones Of Love are bookend tracks “A Piece Of Music” and “The Alto Of Kelso,” featuring one of Hamilton’s oldest friends, multireedist Jack Kelso. On “Steinway,” Hamilton reminiscences about his younger days, as he wrote it for his childhood friend Gerald Wilson, with whom Hamilton fooled around on the Steinway in a local shop in their shared L.A. neighborhood.
Hamilton attempts to capture Charlie Parker’s melodic playing in “The Charlie Parker Suite.” “In my thoughts of Bird, it seemed to me that today’s sax players are aware of Bird’s rhythmic sophistication in terms of his solos, but have forgotten how beautifully Bird would play the melody, and play off of the melody in his solos,” he said. “Like Trane, they’ve missed Bird’s melodic sophistication.”
“The Charlie Parker Suite” was commissioned by and premiered at the 15th annual Charlie Parker Festival in New York in 2007.
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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