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…
“I was playing under a tree one day and then for a Beatle the next day,” Robin Nolan says of his friendship with the late George Harrison.
(Photo: Jonathan Herman)It was through a masterstroke of serendipity that Dutch guitarist Robin Nolan came to meet ex-Beatle George Harrison 30-plus years ago. A devout Djangophile, Nolan was playing gypsy jazz tunes on the streets of Amsterdam back in 1994 and hawking CDs of his trio that he had pressed up just for these busking occasions. One of the curious onlookers who happened by was the gardener at George Harrison’s estate, Friar Park, a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames in England. Knowing of Harrison’s interest in Django Reinhardt, the gardener purchased the self-produced CD and passed it along to his employer.
“It had my phone number on it,” recalls Nolan of that first contact. “And they called it, because they loved the CD. So I had a surreal conversation on the phone with George, and he ended up inviting me over to play at a party they were having.”
That turned out to be the beginning of a long friendship between the busker and the Beatle. Nolan and his gypsy crew ended up becoming the house band at numerous birthday parties held at Friar Park over the years for George, his wife, Olivia, and their son, Dhani. And he continues playing at those Friar Park parties to this day.
Nolan has recorded over a dozen albums of Django-styled gypsy jazz in various configurations over the years, but his recent 15th release is truly something special. Recorded at Friar Park using three of Harrison’s own guitars, For The Love Of George was released on the ex-Beatle’s Dark Horse Records on Feb. 25, to commemorate what would’ve been the legendary musician’s 82nd birthday. And for a kicker, the title track is one that Nolan wrote based on a chord sequence that Harrison had scribbled down on an envelope shortly before his passing in 2001.
“Just seeing his handwriting ... and it’s all just crossed out with an arrow going here and something else going there … it gives me chills,” said Nolan of the mysterious envelope that Harrison had left behind. “You’re kind of looking at it and then you get the vibe. You stare at it a little longer and you go, ‘What did he mean there? Did he mean F#7 or was that a C# minor 7?’ So it took me a while, but I figured out what I thought he meant with that chord progression.”
Once the harmonic puzzle was solved, Nolan crafted a melody. As he recalled, “I just thought, ‘I’ve got to come up with a gorgeous melody which is all about George.’ And then I just kind of heard him humming a really simple melody that fits over those chords. So I recorded a simple version of it and sent it to Olivia, a bit nervous, you know, hoping that she would like it. And she said, ‘Oh, it sounds so George!’ And, of course, it does sound so George because that’s his unique harmonies in there. I just laid the melody on top. And the publishing credit on that tune is Harrison/Nolan, which is like a dream for me.”
Nolan said that being in Harrison’s home studio with his own personal guitars was akin to being in the Tower of London with the Crown Jewels. “I felt really responsible. I had to make it as good as possible and just hope George would like it.”
Aside from the title track, Nolan also delivers nine gypsy jazz interpretations of Harrison tunes along with one Lennon/McCartney number, “And I Love Her,” which opens with a distinctive Harrison riff that became an integral part of that Beatles hit single from 1964. All the tunes on the album are performed on Harrison’s prized 1962 Gibson J160 acoustic, 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 electric 12-string and 1964 José Ramírez nylon-string acoustic.
Nolan’s swinging interpretations of “Wah Wah” and “My Sweet Lord” (both from 1970’s All Things Must Pass) and “I Want To Tell You” (from the Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver) are imbued with chunking rhythm guitar and slick Djangoesque filigrees. Harrison’s love of Indian music comes across on Nolan’s droning take on “Marwa Blues” (from Harrison’s final studio album, Brainwashed, which was posthumously released in November 2002 and co-produced by Dhani Harrison and Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra founder and Harrison’s bandmate in the ’80s supergroup Traveling Wilburys).
Perhaps Harrison’s most famous tune, the romantic love song “Something” (from the Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road), is rendered here in faithfully balladic form at the beginning before reverting to the quintessentially swaggering, medium-tempo swing style of Django midway through. “Dark Sweet Lady” (from Harrison’s self-titled album from 1979) is given a touch of Spanish flamenco flair, while the Indian flavored “The Inner Light” (released as the B-side to the Beatles’ 1968 single “Lady Madonna”) is the sole unaccompanied solo guitar performance on the album. It closes on a poignant note with Nolan caressing each note of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with as much finesse and feeling as Django demonstrated on “Nuages.”
“I met him when I was just a kid,” said Nolan of his first encounter with Harrison. “I was playing under a tree one day and then for a Beatle the next day. And George just loved this stuff that we were playing. He was brought up with Django Reinhardt, so he just thought it was really cool that we playing Django’s music. I think it was refreshing for him. And now to come full circle to this day, to be able to play Django’s music on George’s guitars … it’s just an amazing story.”
Robin Nolan’s Gypsy Jazz Secrets is an instructional video series on YouTube. He also heads up the Gypsy Jazz Club (gypsyjazztransfusionclub.com), an online community of aspiring guitarists looking to expand their Django vocabulary. 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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