George Murphy "Pops" Foster (May 19, 1892 – October 30, 1969)
was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
musician, best known for his vigorous
slap bass playing of the
string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally.
Biography
Foster was born to Charley and Annie Foster, who "was nearly fullblooded
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
," on a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
near McCall in
Ascension Parish near
Donaldsonville
Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Bat ...
in south
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, United States.
His family moved to
when he was about 10 years of age. His older brother, Willard Foster, began playing banjo and guitar; George started out on a cello then switched to string bass.
Foster married twice: to Bertha Foster in 1912 and Alma Foster in 1936.
Pops Foster was playing professionally by 1907 and worked with
Jack Carey
Jack Carey (1889 – 1934) was an American jazz trombonist and the leader of the Crescent City Orchestra. The authorship of the famous ''Tiger Rag'' tune is attributed to him by some. During his career, he performed with Sidney Bechet. Carey ...
,
Kid Ory,
Armand Piron,
King Oliver and other prominent hot bands of the era.
In 1921, he moved to
St. Louis,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
to play with the
Charlie Creath
Charles Cyril Creath (December 30, 1890, Ironton, Missouri – October 23, 1951, Chicago, Illinois) was an American jazz trumpeter, saxophonist, accordionist, and bandleader.
Creath played in traveling circuses and in theater bands in the dec ...
and
Dewey Jackson
Dewey Jackson (June 21, 1900 – January 1, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist.
Early life
Jackson was a native of St. Louis, Missouri.
Career
Jackson began playing professionally at an early age, with the Odd Fellows Bo ...
bands, in which he would be active for much of the decade. He also joined Ory in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. He acquired the nickname "Pops" because he was far older than any of the other players in the band.
In 1929, Foster moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he played with the bands of
Luis Russell
Luis Russell (August 5, 1902 – December 11, 1963) was a pioneering Panamanian jazz pianist, orchestra leader, composer, and arranger.
Career
Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of African-Car ...
and
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
through 1940.
He gigged with New York-based bands through the 1940s, including those of
Sidney Bechet,
Art Hodes
Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.
Biography
Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...
, and regularly participated in the national ''This Is Jazz'' radio program. He recorded with the Mezzrow-Bechet Quintet (Bechet,
Mezz Mezzrow, Fitz Weston, and
Kaiser Marshall) and Septet (on two consecutive dates in 1945, with
Hot Lips Page (as Pappa Snow White),
[ Price, Sammybr> (1995) ''What Do They Want?: A Jazz Autobiography'', p. 105. Continuum International Publishing Group]
/ref> Sammy Price (as Jimmy Blythe Jr.),[ Danny Barker and Sid Catlett, and on the second session with ]Pleasant Joe
Pleasant Joseph, known as Cousin Joe, (December 20, 1907 — October 2, 1989) was a New Orleans blues and jazz singer, famous for his 1940s recordings with Sidney Bechet and Mezz Mezzrow.
Life
He was born in Wallace, Louisiana, United States, an ...
on vocals).[
In the late 1940s, he began touring more widely and played in many countries in Europe, especially in France, and throughout the United States including returns to New Orleans and ]California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.Papa Celestin
Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954) better known by stage name Papa Celestin was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
Life and career
Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son of a s ...
in 1954.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he played with Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
' Small Band.San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, where he died.
''The Autobiography of Pops Foster'' was published in 1971, with a new edition in 2005. Foster is quoted, "Some of the books are fouled up on the times in New Orleans", "and some of the guys weren't telling the truth." "The critics and guys who write about jazz think they know more about what went on in New Orleans than the guys that were there."[''The Autobiography of Pops Foster: New Orleans Jazzman, as Told to Tom Stoddard By Pops Foster'', Ross Russell, p. 1]
Gallery
File:Detail, Pops Foster (Gottlieb 02941) (cropped).jpg, Pops Foster with Ole South Band, New York City in February 1947
File:Fate Marable's New Orleans Band on the S. S. Sidney.jpg, Pops Foster on string bass Fate Marable's New Orleans Band on the S. S. Sidney in 1918 or 1919
File:(Portrait of Art Hodes, Pops Foster, Cecil (Xavier) Scott, and George Luggi, Ole South, New York, N.Y., ca. Oct. 1946) (LOC) (5020399582) (cropped).jpg, Art Hodes new band at the "Ole South" lines up with (left to right) George Luggi on trombone, Pops Foster on bass, Henry Goodwin on trumpet, Hodes on piano and Cecil Scott on clarinet and drummer Baby Dodds, is hidden
References
Bibliography
*"George Murphy 'Pops' Foster", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. 1 (1988), p. 315
*John Chilton, ''Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street'' (1972)
External links
Pops Foster (1892-1968)
at the Red Hot Jazz Archive
Pops Foster recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Pops
American jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
Jazz musicians from Louisiana
People from Ascension Parish, Louisiana
1892 births
1969 deaths
American jazz tubists
American male jazz musicians
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
20th-century American musicians
20th-century trumpeters
Slap bassists (double bass)
American people of Cherokee descent
20th-century double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
The Eagle Band members
Southland Records artists
20th-century African-American musicians