Herman Foster (April 26, 1928 – April 3, 1999) was an American

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

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 ...

pianist. He was blinded during childbirth through the carelessness of a doctor. He began his musical career early playing the violin, clarinet, saxophone, and piano. He became a self-taught pianist. His family moved from Philadelphia to New York City in 1947 where he began to attend jam sessions and then played with

Eric Dixon Eric "Big Daddy" Dixon (March 28, 1930 – October 19, 1989) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, flautist, composer, and arranger. Dixon's professional career extended from 1950 until his death in 1989, during which time he was credited ...

, Dick Carter and the big band of Herb Jones. Then he met

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...

and they played together from 1953 to 1966. He also worked with

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...

, and

Seldon Powell Seldon Powell (15 November 1928 – 25 January 1997) was an American soul jazz, swing, and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist born in Lawrenceville, Virginia. He worked with Tab Smith (1949), Lucky Millinder (1949–51), Neal Hefti, and Louis Be ...

in the 1950s, and with Al Casey and

Gloria Lynne Gloria Lynne (born Gloria Wilson; November 23, 1929 – October 15, 2013), also known as Gloria Alleyne, was an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007. Career Lynne was born in Harlem in 1929 to John and Mary W ...

in the 1960s, in addition to playing with his own trio. He returned to work in Donaldson's quartet in the 1980s. In 1996 he married Hisayo Tominaga, a jazz vocalist.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

*1957:

: Wailing with Lou (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

) *1957: Lou Donaldson: Swing and Soul (Blue Note) *1958: Lou Donaldson: Blues Walk (Blue Note) *1958: Lou Donaldson: Light-Foot (Blue Note) *1959:

: Have tenor sax will blow (

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

) *1960: Al Casey:

Buck Jumpin' ''Buck Jumpin' '' is an album by guitarist Al Casey (jazz guitarist), Al Casey which was recorded in 1960 and released on the Prestige Records, Swingville label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MSwingville Label Discography accessed November 20, 2018 Rece ...

(Swingville) *1961: Lou Donaldson: Gravy Train (Blue Note) *1961 Gloria Lynn)

I'm Glad There Is You "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" is a song written by Jimmy Dorsey and Paul Madeira (sometimes credited as Paul Mertz) first published in 1941. It has become a jazz and pop standard. Original recording The song was rele ...

( Everest LPBR 5126) *1962:

: At The Las Vegas Thunderbird (Everest) *1964: Joan Shaw In Person ( Sue) *1964: Lou Donaldson: Cole Slaw (Argo) *1964:

Jean DuShon Jean DuShon (born Anna Jean Harris, later Atwell, August 16, 1935 – July 19, 2019) was an American jazz and R&B singer, and stage actor. She was best known for her recordings in the 1960s, including the first released recording of the so ...

: Make way for Jean DuShon (Argo) *1966: Lou Donaldson: Blowing in the Wind (

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

) *1972:

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for hi ...

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

(Perception) *1981: Lou Donaldson:

Sweet Poppa Lou ''Sweet Poppa Lou'' is a 1981 album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson, his first recording for the Muse Records, Muse label, featuring Donaldson's quartet with Herman Foster, Calvin Hill, Idris Muhammad, and additional percussion on three tracks ...

(

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

) *1981: Lou Donaldson:

Forgotten Man The forgotten man is a political concept in the United States centered around those whose interests have been neglected. The first main invocation of this concept came from William Graham Sumner in an 1883 lecture in Brooklyn entitled ''The Forgott ...

(Timeless) *1982: Lou Donaldson: Back Street (Muse) *1984: Lou Donaldson: Live in Bologna (Timeless) *1995: Hisayo Tominaga: Blues blue (Black Box) *2000: George V. Johnson, Jr.: Next in line ! (Your Majesty)

References

Herman Foster Herman Foster (April 26, 1928 – April 3, 1999) was an American bebop jazz pianist. He was blinded during childbirth through the carelessness of a doctor. He began his musical career early playing the violin, clarinet, saxophone, and piano. ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Herman Foster
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Herman 1928 births 1999 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Philadelphia 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians