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…
Pianist Vijay Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa are releasing their new disc, Raw Materials (Savoy Jazz), on May 23.
Iyer and Mahanthappa have been musical collaborators since Steve Coleman introduced them to each other in 1995.
“We both know immediately that we had made a connection,” Iyer and Mahanthappa write in the disc’s liner notes. “Two like-minded South Asian American musicians at parallel stages in our lives and at a similar crossroads of creative traditions.”
Along with drawing on Indian musical themes, Raw Materials uses European and African sources for the duo’s harmonically advanced jazz compositions.
“This duo setting allowed our collaborations to flourish and evolve into something truly unforseen,” according to Iyer and Mahanthappa.
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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