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Frank Foster (musician)
Encyclopedia
Frank Foster was an American
tenor
and soprano saxophonist
, flautist
, arranger, and composer
. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie
and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.
, and educated at Wilberforce University
. In 1949, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he joined the local jazz scene, playing with musicians such as Wardell Gray
. Drafted into the US Army in 1951, Foster served in Korea with the 7th Infantry Division. Upon finishing his military service in 1953 he joined Count Basie
's big band. Foster contributed both arrangements and original compositions to Count Basie’s band including the standard, “Shiny Stockings”, and other popular songs such as “Down for the Count”, “Blues Backstage”, “Back to the Apple”, “Discommotion”, and “Blues in Hoss Flat” as well as arrangements for the entire Easin’ It album.
From 1970 to 1972 (and on occasional later dates) he played with Elvin Jones
, and in 1972 and 1975 with the Thad Jones
–Mel Lewis
big band.
Foster was an Artist in Residence at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1971. That same year, he also started teaching for the New York City Public School System in District 5, Harlem, as part of a team of six professional musicians assigned to the Federal Government’s Title I Program: Cultural Enrichment Through Music, Dance, and Song. From 1972 to 1976, Foster was full-time Assistant Professor in the Black Studies Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).
Foster also formed and lead several groups, most notably Living Color and The Loud Minority. He co-led a quintet with Frank Wess
in 1983, and toured Europe as a member of Jimmy Smith
's quintet in 1985.
In June 1986 Foster succeeded Thad Jones as leader of the Count Basie Orchestra. While leading the Basie Orchestra, Dr. Foster received two Grammy Awards: first for his big band arrangement of the Diane Schuur composition "Deedles’ Blues" (Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal, Jazz category, 1987), and second for his arrangement of guitarist/vocalist George Benson’s composition "Basie’s Bag" (Best Big Band Instrumental, Jazz category, 1988).
Foster departed from the band in 1995, after which he resumed his leadership of three musical groups: The Non-Electric Company (a jazz quartet/quintet), Swing Plus (a 12-piece band), and The Loud Minority Big Band (an 18-piece concert jazz orchestra), each of which he had organized years prior to assuming leadership of the Basie unit in 1986.
Frank Foster suffered a stroke in 2001 that impaired his left side to the extent that he could no longer play the saxophone. After continuing to lead the Loud Minority on limited engagements for much of the 2000s, he turned his leadership responsibilities for the band over to Cecil Bridgewater
, a prominent New York City jazz musician. Until his death Foster continued composing and arranging at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he resided with his wife and personal manager of nearly 45 years, Cecilia Foster.
in their mission to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina. After receiving help from the Jazz Foundation, Frank has supported the cause by performing in their Annual Benefit Concert "A Great Night in Harlem" in 2008. Frank donated his gold-plated tenor sax to be auctioned by the Jazz Foundation of America
, the proceeds of which went to support the foundation's non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
With Donald Byrd
With Earl Coleman
With Bennie Green
and Gene Ammons
With Elvin Jones
With Horace Parlan
With Duke Pearson
With Ronnie Mathews
With Thelonious Monk
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and soprano saxophonist
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
, arranger, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.
Biography
Foster was born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and educated at Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans...
. In 1949, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he joined the local jazz scene, playing with musicians such as Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...
. Drafted into the US Army in 1951, Foster served in Korea with the 7th Infantry Division. Upon finishing his military service in 1953 he joined Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's big band. Foster contributed both arrangements and original compositions to Count Basie’s band including the standard, “Shiny Stockings”, and other popular songs such as “Down for the Count”, “Blues Backstage”, “Back to the Apple”, “Discommotion”, and “Blues in Hoss Flat” as well as arrangements for the entire Easin’ It album.
From 1970 to 1972 (and on occasional later dates) he played with Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, and in 1972 and 1975 with the Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
–Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
big band.
Foster was an Artist in Residence at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1971. That same year, he also started teaching for the New York City Public School System in District 5, Harlem, as part of a team of six professional musicians assigned to the Federal Government’s Title I Program: Cultural Enrichment Through Music, Dance, and Song. From 1972 to 1976, Foster was full-time Assistant Professor in the Black Studies Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).
Foster also formed and lead several groups, most notably Living Color and The Loud Minority. He co-led a quintet with Frank Wess
Frank Wess
Frank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
in 1983, and toured Europe as a member of Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
's quintet in 1985.
In June 1986 Foster succeeded Thad Jones as leader of the Count Basie Orchestra. While leading the Basie Orchestra, Dr. Foster received two Grammy Awards: first for his big band arrangement of the Diane Schuur composition "Deedles’ Blues" (Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal, Jazz category, 1987), and second for his arrangement of guitarist/vocalist George Benson’s composition "Basie’s Bag" (Best Big Band Instrumental, Jazz category, 1988).
Foster departed from the band in 1995, after which he resumed his leadership of three musical groups: The Non-Electric Company (a jazz quartet/quintet), Swing Plus (a 12-piece band), and The Loud Minority Big Band (an 18-piece concert jazz orchestra), each of which he had organized years prior to assuming leadership of the Basie unit in 1986.
Frank Foster suffered a stroke in 2001 that impaired his left side to the extent that he could no longer play the saxophone. After continuing to lead the Loud Minority on limited engagements for much of the 2000s, he turned his leadership responsibilities for the band over to Cecil Bridgewater
Cecil Bridgewater
-Biography:Bridgewater was born in Urbana, Illinois and studied at the University of Illinois. He and brother Ron formed the Bridgewater Brothers Band in 1969, and in the 1970s he was married to Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 1970 he played with Horace Silver, and following this with Thad Jones and Mel...
, a prominent New York City jazz musician. Until his death Foster continued composing and arranging at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he resided with his wife and personal manager of nearly 45 years, Cecilia Foster.
Awards and commissions
- Foster received two Grammy Awards: the first, for his big band arrangement of the Diane SchuurDiane SchuurDiane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
composition, “Deedles’ Blues, “ (Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal, 1987), and the second for his arrangement of guitarist/vocalist George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
’s composition, “Basie’s Bag” (Best Instrumental Arrangement, Jazz Category, 1988). He also received two Grammy nominations: for his big band arrangement of Charles TrenetCharles TrenetCharles Trenet was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s...
’s composition "Beyond the Sea", and for an album with his fellow Basie alumnus Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
entitled Frankly Speaking.
- He has composed and orchestrated material for The Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble, The Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra, The Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble, The Jazzmobile Corporation of New York City, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Malaysia Symphony Orchestra, The Metropole Orchestra of Hilversum, Holland, and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. In 1983 Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
personally commissioned Frank Foster to orchestrate one of the jazz icon’s compositions, “Con Alma,” for a scheduled performance and recording with The London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Robert Farnon. - In 1987, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Central State (formerly Wilberforce) University.
- In 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts presented Dr. Foster with its NEA Jazz Masters Award, the highest honor in jazz.
- Foster was commissioned by The Harpers Ferry Historical Association of West Virginia to compose a jazz suite of ten to fifteen minutes duration in connection with the "Niagara Movement," relating to John Brown’s famous raid on Harpers Ferry. The suite was performed by the Count Basie Orchestra at Harpers Ferry as part of the three-day Niagara Movement celebration in August 2006.
- Jazz at Lincoln Center commissioned Dr. Foster to compose and arrange music for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, directed by Wynton Marsalis, for performances on March 13 through 15, 2008, with "A Man and a Woman" as the theme. Foster wrote the words, music, and orchestrations for "I Love You (Based on Your Availability)" and "Romance Without Substance is a Nuisance", both performed by vocalists Dennis Rowland and Marlena Shaw.
- On March 20, 2009, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jon Faddis, performed a three-part suite by Foster titled "Chi-Town is My Town and My Town’s No Shy Town" at The Harris Theater in Chicago.
- In 2009, Foster selected The Jazz Archive at Duke University to be the home for his numerous compositions, arrangements, and personal papers.
Humanitarian causes
Frank Foster became a great supporter of The Jazz Foundation of AmericaJazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
in their mission to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina. After receiving help from the Jazz Foundation, Frank has supported the cause by performing in their Annual Benefit Concert "A Great Night in Harlem" in 2008. Frank donated his gold-plated tenor sax to be auctioned by the Jazz Foundation of America
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
, the proceeds of which went to support the foundation's non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
As leader
- 1953: Here Comes Frank Foster (Blue Note RecordsBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
) - 1954: New Faces, New Sounds (Blue Note RecordsBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
) - 1956: Two Franks Please! (SavoySavoySavoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
) - 1956: No Count (SavoySavoySavoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
) - 1963: Basie Is Our Boss (ArgoArgoIn Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
) - 1965: Fearless Frank Foster (Prestige)
- 1966: Soul Outing! (Prestige)
- 1968: Manhattan FeverManhattan FeverManhattan Fever is an album by American jazz saxophonist Frank Foster recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD reissue added five previously unreleased recordings from a 1969 session as bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) - 1969: Frank Foster (Blue Note)
- 1974: The Loud Minority (Mainstream)
- 1976: Here and Now (Catalyst)
- 1977: Shiny Stockings (Denon)
- 1978: Twelve Shades of Black (Leo)
- 1979: Non-Electric Company (EPM Musique)
- 1982: The House That Love Built (SteepleChaseSteeplechaseSteeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
) - 1983: Two for the Blues (Pablo/OJC)
- 1984: Frankly Speaking (Concord Jazz)
- 1995: A Fresh Taste of Thad Jones and Frank Foster (Hanssler Classics)
- 1996: Leo Rising (Arabesque RecordsArabesque RecordsArabesque Records is an American classical and jazz record label.Arabesque began as a classical music subsidiary of the Caedmon company. In 1988, Marvin Reiss and Ward Botsford bought the company, turning it into an independent, and continued releasing classical until 1992, when it switched focuses...
) - 1998: Swing (live) (Challenge)
- 2002: Live at Feuerwache Mannheim (Bassic)
- 2003: We Do It Diff'rent (live) (MapleshadeMapleshade RecordsMapleshade Records is an American jazz based record label.Mapleshade was founded in 1989 by Pierre Sprey, who had been recording since 1986. Prior to his career in jazz recording, Sprey had worked as an aeronautical engineer in The Pentagon, designing A-10 and F-16 fighter jets. The label is based...
) - 2004: Settin' the Pace (GJazzRecords)
- 2005: Endless Fingers (Arabesque)
- 2007: Well Water (Piadrum)
As arranger
- 1961: "Little Man (You've Had a Busy Day)" - Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
with the Count Basie OrchestraCount Basie OrchestraThe Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
- Count Basie/Sarah VaughanCount Basie/Sarah VaughanCount Basie/Sarah Vaughan is a 1961 album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, with arrangements by Frank Foster, Thad Jones and Ernie Wilkins. According to James Gavin's liner notes to the 1996 CD release, Basie himself does not perform on any of the...
(Roulette) - 1965: Sarah Vaughan - ¡Viva! Vaughan¡Viva! VaughanThe Allmusic review by Ken Dryden awarded ¡Viva! Vaughan two stars and said "Vaughan is in great voice throughout the date and the material is generally first-rate, except for the bland "Night Song"...Unfortunately, the bossa nova selections are burdened with pedestrian string arrangements that...
(Mercury) - 1984: "Mack the KnifeMack the Knife"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...
" - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- L.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My Lady is a 1984 studio album by Frank Sinatra, featuring arrangements by Quincy Jones. It was the last solo album that Sinatra recorded, though Sinatra recorded three further songs, which were unreleased until The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings.The album came after an album of duets...
(Qwest/Warner Bros.) - 1987: Diane SchuurDiane SchuurDiane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
and the Count Basie Orchestra - Diane Schuur & the Count Basie OrchestraDiane Schuur & the Count Basie OrchestraDiane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra is a 1987 live album by Diane Schuur, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, arranged by Frank Foster....
(GRP)
As sideman
With Count Basie OrchestraCount Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
- One O'Clock Jump (1957)
- E=MC² (1957)
With Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
- All Day LongAll Day LongAll Day Long is a jazz album by guitarist Kenny Burrell. It was released in 1957 under Prestige label as PRLP 7081. It's characterized by fast pieces and also was one of the first albums in which Burrell was presented as a leader. All the pieces were composed by the members of the band...
(1957) - Fancy FreeFancy Free (Donald Byrd album)Fancy Free is an album by the American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, that was released on Blue Note records in 1970.The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awards this album with 3 stars and states: "Recorded just a few months after Miles Davis' In a Silent Way, Fancy Free finds Byrd leading a large...
(1970) - KofiKofi (album)Kofi is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, Duke Pearson, Ron Carter, Bob Cranshaw, Airto Moreira, Wally Richardson, and Mickey Roker recorded in 1969 and 1970 and released on the Blue Note label in 1971.-Reception:The Allmusic...
(1971)
With Earl Coleman
Earl Coleman (singer)
Earl Coleman was a jazz singer.Moving to Indianapolis in 1939, he started singing with Ernie Fields and Bardu Ali...
- Manhattan Serenade (1968)
With Bennie Green
Bennie Green
Bennie Green was an American jazz trombonist.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and 1960s.-As leader:...
and Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
- The Swingin'estThe Swingin'estThe Swingin'est is an album by American trombonist Bennie Green and saxophonist Gene Ammons recorded in 1958 and released on the Vee-Jay label.-Reception:...
(1958)
With Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
- Heavy SoundsHeavy SoundsHeavy Sounds is an album by American jazz drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Richard Davis recorded in 1967 and released on the Impuse! label.-Reception:...
with Richard Davis (Impulse!, 1967) - CoalitionCoalition (album)Coalition is an album by American jazz drummer Elvin Jones recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "This was a particularly creative and often intense ensemble, attached to the hard bop tradition but always...
(Blue Note, 1970) - GenesisGenesis (Elvin Jones album)Genesis is an album by American jazz drummer Elvin Jones recorded in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "Elvin Jones' band had expanded during 1969-71 from a pianoless trio to a three-horn quintet... it would not...
(Blue Note, 1971) - Merry-Go-RoundMerry-Go-Round (album)Merry-Go-Round is an album by American jazz drummer Elvin Jones recorded in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "the music is generally quite worthwhile, if a bit eclectic.....
(Blue Note, 1971)
With Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
- Frank-ly SpeakingFrank-ly SpeakingFrank-ly Speaking is an album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in the U.S. in 1977 and released on the Danish-based SteepleChase label.-Reception:...
(1977)
With Duke Pearson
Duke Pearson
Duke Pearson was an American jazz pianist and composer. Allmusic notes him as being a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a producer."-History:...
- Introducing Duke Pearson's Big BandIntroducing Duke Pearson's Big BandIntroducing Duke Pearson's Big Band is the eleventh album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring big band performances recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label...
(1967) - Now Hear ThisNow Hear This (Duke Pearson album)Now Hear This is the thirteenth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson. It features big band performances recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(1968) - It Could Only Happen with YouIt Could Only Happen with YouIt Could Only Happen with You is the final album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances recorded in 1970 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1974.-Reception:...
(1970)
With Ronnie Mathews
Ronnie Mathews
Ronnie Mathews was a jazz pianist primarily known for his work with other musicians, including Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978 - 1979...
- Roots, Branches and Dances (1978, Bee Hive RecordsBee Hive Records-Discography:-References:*...
)
With Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
- Monk (1954)