Yes, this is truly a classic album featuring the great Jazz pianist Elmo Hope and the great tenor saxophonist Frank Foster. They are joined by John Ore on bass, Art Taylor on drums and Charles Freeman Lee on trumpet for only tracks 2, 3 & 5. “Hope Meets Foster” can cost a bit, but its sure worth it! You’ll find it to be one of your favorites in no time! This is a real classic, so get it and enjoy it!
About the album:
Hope Meets Foster album for sale by Elmo Hope was released Jul 16, 2013 on the Universal Japan label. Elmo Hope Quartet/Quintet: Elmo Hope (piano); Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Freeman Lee (trumpet); John Ore (bass); Arthur Taylor (drums). Hope Meets Foster CD music contains a single disc.
Digitally remastered by Gary Hobish (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).This decent bop session features tenor-saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Elmo Hope in a quintet with the forgotten trumpeter Freeman Lee (who is on three of the six songs), bassist John Ore and drummer Art Taylor Hope Meets Foster songs. They perform three of Hope’s originals, two by Foster and an uptempo version of “Georgia on My Mind.”….Read More
Frank Foster biography:
“Although jazz has been officially declared a national treasure in recent years, far too few of its representative artists ever receive sufficient acknowledgement in the mass media. In view of this unfortunate reality, it’s quite fitting and honorable that a prestigious entity such as the National Endowment for the Arts recognizes the artistic, aesthetic and spiritual value of this home-grown music through the American Jazz Masters Fellowship. Therefore, it is with extreme happiness and gratitude that I accept the fellowship award for the year 2002.”
Although best known for his work in the Count Basie Orchestra (and as the composer of the Count Basie hit, “Shiny Stockings”), Frank Foster’s saxophone playing owed more to the bebop of Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt than the swing of Basie.
Foster began playing clarinet at 11 years old before taking up the alto saxophone and eventually the tenor. By the time he was a senior in high school, he was leading and writing the arrangements for a 12-piece band. Foster studied at Wilberforce University in Ohio before heading to Detroit in 1949 with trumpeter Snooky Young for six weeks, becoming captivated by its burgeoning music scene. Drafted into the Army, Foster left Detroit and headed off to basic training near San Francisco, where he would jam in the evenings at Jimbo’s Bop City.
After being discharged in 1953, two life-changing events happened to Foster: he sat in with Charlie Parker at Birdland and he was asked to join Count Basie’s band, where he stayed until 1964. Foster’s fiery solos contrasted nicely with Frank Wess‘ ballad work, providing Basie with an interesting saxophone combination. Foster, already an accomplished composer by this time, learned from Basie how to simplify….Learn More
Great article on Frank Foster (Marc Meyers of JazzWax):
Frank Foster, whose pouncing tenor sax and swinging arranging style helped update Count Basie’s New Testament Band with a seemingly endless stream of blues surprises from 1953 onward, died on July 26 in Chesapeake, VA. He was 82.
In a band crowded with saxophone talent, Foster and Frank Wess anchored the reed section like a pair of library lions, roaring with a sound so confident, moody and wily that no other orchestra could duplicate its natural feel and collective phrasing.
Foster’s great skill as an arranger rested with his ability to weave a call and response technique throughout entire pieces without ever seeming dull or repetitive. In many cases, Foster’s charts would have the saxes introduce and carry the melody line, while the trombones muttered or sneezed replies and the trumpets high-fived them for good measure.
The result was a modern conversational arranging technique that emulated banter heard in black barbershops rather than the church. With Foster, this salon was always humming, with roaring horns tempered by suede-smooth reeds and the sound of Basie’s “scissors” always snipping away. Foster’s arrangements didn’t sound complex but they were deceptive, requiring precise and emotional playing that seemed to hurtle forward, even when taken at mid-tempo.
When Foster soloed, he could charge ahead, drag a note or hit a high wail while producing miraculous ideas at high speed. In some ways, his solos sounded like he was making an elaborate sandwich while standing in the aisle of a fast moving train, without losing his balance or dropping a thing.
On his arrangement, while the reeds ran their lines, other instruments uttered their own blues statements that were variations on the melody line. What’s more, his charts always could be counted on to end with a big build up and a walloping crescendo, producing an emotional thrill for the listener…..Read more
