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FRANK FOSTER, saxophone-composer; b.
September 23, 1928; Cincinnati, OH
Frank Foster is one of those rare triple
threats: He’s a saxophonist with a big, broad, rangy sound
and approach; he’s a composer and arranger of both tunes
and long-form works; and he’s a skilled leader of bands both
large and small. As a saxophonist fluent on tenor, soprano, and
alto saxes, he’s been a welcome addition on bandstands and
recording studios of vast variety. As a composer and arranger
his efforts have run the gamut, from writing such jazz standards
as “Shiny Stockings” and “Simone”, to his
“Lake Placid Suite”, commissioned by the 1980 Winter
Olympics. As a bandleader he’s led everything from quartets
to big bands, all with great aplomb and abundant skill.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio,
Frank’s mother was an amateur pianist, so the influence of
music was always in his home. From the time he was a teenager,
Frank played in dance bands in and around southern and south-central
Ohio. After learning music in Cincinnati schools, he matriculated
to Central State University, where he joined the Wilberforce Collegians,
a major collegiate training ground. In 1949 Frank moved to Detroit,
where he played with both aspiring and veteran jazz musicians,
including fellow Ohioan Snooky Young. Some of Frank’s early
influences included Wardell Gray and Sonny Stitt.
Frank entered the Army in 1951. After
his Army stint ended in 1953 he joined one of the great jazz proving
grounds, the Count Basie Orchestra. This was to be one of his
signature band affiliations, for the next eleven years and beyond.
With the Basie band he was not only a key member of the saxophone
section, his keen writing skills soon came to the Count’s
attention, and he became one of Basie’s most trusted composers
and arrangers. His most noted contribution to the Basie book was
“Shiny Stockings,” which became a Basie signature. And
Basie so valued his playing that Frank was also a member of the
Count’s occasional small band, known as the Kansas City Seven.
Frank Foster’s composing and arranging gifts served him well
and his skills were sought by several big bands, including the
Woody Herman band, and the Lloyd Price Orchestra, which at the
time was directed by Slide Hampton.
From the mid-1960s through the 1980s
Frank Foster led his own large and small groups, including his
Loud Minority big band, Living Color Band, and Frank Foster’s
Non-Electric Company. He was also a much sought after saxophone
soloist, composer and arranger for bands large and small. These
affiliations included the Duke Pearson, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis,
Buddy Rich, Clark Terry, and Jazzmobile big bands. It was the
Jazzmobile Big Band that performed his “Lake Placid Suite”,
at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Quite skilled at working with
singers, Frank arranged and conducted a record date for Sarah
Vaughan. He has featured such stellar vocalists as Ernestine Anderson
and Dee Bridgewater in his own big bands, as well as arranging
Carmen Bradford’s vocals for the Basie band. Ms. Bradford
even sang Frank’s praises on a Basie band tune called “Papa
Foss.”
Frank’s small ensemble memberships
during the 70s and 80s included the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine,
and a quintet co-led with fellow saxman Frank Wess. Two years
after Count Basie ascended to ancestry, Frank Foster took over
leadership of the Basie Orchestra and swung it to good health,
from June, 1986 to July, 1995. He assisted mightily in upholding
the proud Basie tradition, thrilling old fans and winning new
converts to their distinctly swinging sound.
Since leaving the Basie organization,
Frank Foster has kept busy with a broad range of small band work
and jazz education. His jazz education work actually commenced
years before that. He was hired as a music consultant by the New
York City public schools in 1971 and 1972. In addition to his
long teaching tenure with the Jazzmobile organization, Frank has
taught at the State University of New York in Buffalo, and at
Queens College. In 1983 he returned to his alma mater, Central
State University, to receive an honorary doctorate degree.
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