Al Foster – Live at Smoke 2LP [PRE-ORDER]

An all-star birthday celebration for the late, great Al Foster at Smoke Jazz Club is captured on the master drummer’s joyous new album, LIVE AT SMOKE – featuring saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Brad Mehldau, and bassist Joe Martin.

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For more than a decade, the legendary drummer Al Foster had regularly convened an all-star band to celebrate his birthday on stage at Smoke Jazz Club. This year’s festivities, honoring Foster’s 82nd trip around the sun, was particularly special. The band that gathered to both honor and inspire the master drummer featured an incomparable line-up; the music that was sparked by the occasion and by their interplay was luminous, as evidenced by the performances captured on this spirited new live album. Sadly, Foster passed away on May 28, before the music could be released.

The powerhouse tenor saxophonist Chris Potter was a regular at these birthday celebrations, carrying on a collaboration that spanned over 30 years. Joining him and Foster onstage this year also included the acclaimed pianist Brad Mehldau and the impeccable bassist Joe Martin, playing before a packed house of music lovers, family and friends.

The joyous, raucous and swinging celebration is captured on the exhilarating LIVE AT SMOKE. The album reveals Foster in magnificent form, as he propels the band with his distinctive, eloquent sense of swing on a set of originals and classics – including some by the jazz giants who enlisted the drummer to make his mark on their own work.