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 Viola Smith died Oct. 21 at the age of 107 in Costa Mesa, California.
(Photo: YouTube)Viola Smith, a pioneering big band-era drummer known as the “fastest girl drummer in the world” who wielded explosive sticks behind a massive 12-drum kit, died at her home in Costa Mesa, California, on Oct. 21. She was 107.
A trailblazer known for her pyrotechnics on stage, where she exploded with a ferocity that belied her diminutive stature, Smith was an equally fierce proponent of women’s rights in the male-dominated world of swing-era jazz.
“Viola Smith was not only one of the pioneering women instrumentalists of American popular music, she was an advocate for the rights of all women musicians trying to make a living in the sexist music business,” said drummer and bandleader Allison Miller, one of the countless female jazz players who owe a debt to Smith. “As a working musician for 90-plus years, she proved that women could master their craft, be a musician among musicians, display versatility and get the job done.”
A prodigy from the get-go, Smith still was a young girl in the late 1920s when she became the drummer for a family band, the all-girl Schmitz Sisters Orchestra (later the Smith Sisters Orchestra) in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin. In nearby Fond du Lac, her parents ran a concert hall. Though her father was a strict taskmaster who demanded long practice sessions from his eight daughters, it was a pretty sweet trade-off for Smith, who took to the drums like a fish to water. “So long as we practiced, we barely had to do work around the house,” she told the Women of Rock Oral History Project in 2018.
Much more than a novelty act, The Smith Sisters could swing with the best of the big-bands, and quickly graduated from local weddings and the state-fair circuit. They frequently traveled to radio gigs in Chicago, where they bested an all-male band playing “Rhapsody In Blue,” and in 1936 embarked on a year-long national tour as part of an all-girl revue sponsored by the Major Bowes Amateur Hour talent contest.
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…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.
Jun 3, 2025 10:31 AM
The time and labor required to tour is, for many musicians, daunting at best and prohibitive at worst. It’s hardly…
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
