Al Foster, a rhythmic force who graced the stages and studios with icons like Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins for over six decades, passed away on Wednesday in his New York City apartment at the age of 82, per npr.org. The Jazz drumming legend’s partner of 47 years, Bonnie Rose Steinberg, confirmed to NPR Music that a serious illness was the cause.
Foster’s drumming was renowned for its powerful yet adaptable beat, a testament to his intuitive ability to seamlessly shift rhythmic balance. From the crisp authority of bebop to the deep pull of modal jazz and the thrashing backbeat of fusion, his ride cymbal was a swirling current that propelled countless musical settings. Miles Davis himself, who immortalised Foster in his autobiography and with the hallucinatory funk composition “Mr. Foster,” lauded his “groove” that was “just lay it right in there.”
Beyond his pivotal role in Davis’s band, appearing on albums like Big Fun and Dark Magus, Foster was a frequent collaborator with Sonny Rollins and featured on Joe Henderson’s defining The State of the Tenor, Vols. 1 & 2. A bandleader in his own right since 1978, Foster continued to release acclaimed albums, including 2022’s Reflections, which he proudly declared “my best record yet.”
Born Aloysius Tyrone Foster in Richmond, VA, in 1943, he leaves behind a legacy of rhythmic brilliance that will resonate through jazz for generations.
•Featured image: Al Foster, photographed in Paris in 1980/Andre Clergeat/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
