In 1972, Blue Note Records unleashed
Two Headed Freap, a debut album by organist-composer Ronnie Foster filled with soulful, swinging music as irresistible as its title. Now, a half-century later, Foster has gone back to the future by way of
Reboot, an equally enjoyable showcase for his mastery of the Hammond B3 issued under the Blue Note banner. As a bonus,
Two Headed Freap has been rereleased as part of Blue Note’s Classic Vinyl Reissue Series.
These unlikely developments proved positively dizzying for Foster, 72. “I’m still in a daze,” he says with a laugh. “What company re-signs you after 50 years? It’s crazy, but beautiful.”
A Buffalo, New York, native, Foster began his love affair with the B3 early. He was around 11 when he was invited to join a jam session at a supper club where his friend’s mother worked. “I played piano then, but there wasn’t one — just a B3,” he remembers, describing a scenario that would daunt most older musicians, let alone a pre-teenaged one. “I said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’”
Plenty did, and fast. He got hooked on the B3 and, at age 12, he was befriended by Jimmy Smith, acknowledged master of the instrument and a star of the Blue Note label. A couple of years later, Smith introduced him to guitarist George Benson, whose band he joined at 15, and in the years that followed, he became a sought-after sideman. (Benson’s former bandmate, Dr. Lonnie Smith, was also an influence on Foster, who dedicates
Reboot to his memory. A fellow Buffalo native, Smith, who died last year, had also returned to Blue Note after a decades-long hiatus.)
Foster made his first trip to the studio in 1970 for guitarist Grant Green’s platter
Alive! After hearing him play, Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff was impressed. According to Foster, “Francis said, ‘Do you want to have a deal with Blue Note?’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’” Wolff died before the pact could be finalized, but his successor, Dr. George Butler, was also a fan, leading to
Two Headed Freap and four additional Blue Note albums over the next few years.
During the late 1970s, Foster made a couple of recordings for Columbia Records and put out
The Racer on the Pro Jazz imprint circa 1986. But even as he kept popping up on albums from a wide array of impressive performers — including the 1976 classic
Songs in the Key of Life by his friend Stevie Wonder — he started working more behind the soundboard, serving as producer for artists such as Brazil’s Djavan and Puerto Rico’s Chayanne.
His own time in the spotlight wasn’t over, though. Foster talked to Don Was shortly after his 2012 naming as Blue Note’s president, and they’ve stayed in touch ever since. More recently, he notes, “I was talking to Don about this other project I had in mind, and at the end of the conversation, he said, ‘Send me some of your music.’ I did, and afterward, he said, ‘I love everything. Let’s get this done.’”
The making of
Reboot was pure joy for Foster, in part because his son Chris Foster played drums on several tracks. He also enjoyed showing his versatility, beginning with the title track. “That song pays homage to what I consider traditional organ trio stuff,” he acknowledges. “But it’s harmonically structured in a way that I could explore other avenues.”
He also puts his personal stamp on a cover of Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” “It’s a great tune and we do it our own way,” Foster emphasizes. “Stevie gives me a hard time. He says, ‘You’re not playing the right chords.’ And I say, ‘This is my arrangement!’”
The project has left Foster hungry for more. “I write all the time, and I still feel I have a lot to say musically,” he says. “So this is starting again where it all began. I’m rebooting.” -
Michael Roberts
https://open.spotify.com/album/7fIQ7XeqTD0FqsvyTohyrY?si=J_yjEZfFRba5Ejl_L47qeg
Featured photo by Jen Rosenstein.
