Ronnie Foster (born May 12, 1950) is an American funk and

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s have gained a cult following after the emergence of acid jazz.

Early life

Foster was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, on May 12, 1950. He attended Public School 8, Woodlawn Jr. High for a year,

McKinley Vocational High School McKinley Vocational High School is a public high school in Buffalo, New York. The school is located at 1500 Elmwood Avenue, and serves about 1200 students from Grades 9 - 12. History McKinley was formed in 1910 as Black Rock Vocational Schoo ...

for two years, and then spent his final year at Lafayette High School. The only formal musical instruction he received was a month of accordion lessons. He was attracted to music at the age of four, took it more seriously from his early teens, and had his first professional gig aged fifteen, playing in a strip club.

Later life and career

Foster initially performed with other local musicians. He moved to New York City with his own band, and acquired a publishing company. Foster has performed as a sideman with a wide range of musicians. He frequently worked with guitarist

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, including playing on the guitarist's album ''

Breezin' ''Breezin is the fifteenth studio album by jazz/ soul guitarist and vocalist George Benson. It is his debut on Warner Bros. Records. It not only was a chart-topper in the Jazz category but also went to #1 on the pop and R&B charts. It was ...

''. Foster has also played organ with

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

, Grover Washington, Jr.,

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fin ...

, Harvey Mason, Jimmy Smith, and Stevie Wonder. He is also a record producer. Ronnie Foster's song "Mystic Brew", was sampled in

Electric Relaxation "Electric Relaxation" is the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's third album ''Midnight Marauders''. It contains a sample of the song " Mystic Brew" by jazz organist Ronnie Foster. The track was featured as the opening theme song for The WB ...

by A Tribe Called Quest as well as later in J. Cole's song

Forbidden Fruit Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden. As a ...

. Later in 2016, J. Cole confirmed that the song "Mystic Brew" was reversed, pitched, and slowed down in the song Neighbors as well as the instrumental of Forbidden Fruit.

Discography

*'' Two Headed Freap'' (Blue Note, 1972) *'' Sweet Revival'' (Blue Note, 1972) *'' Ronnie Foster Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux'' (Blue Note, 1973) *'' On the Avenue'' (Blue Note, 1974) *''

Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...

'' (Blue Note, 1975) *''Love Satellite'' (Columbia, 1978) *''Delight'' (Columbia, 1979) *''The Racer'' (Pro Jazz, 1986) *''Reboot'' (Blue Note, 2022)

As sideman

With

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

*'' Street Dreams'' (Columbia, 1986) With

*'' Good King Bad'' (CTI, 1975) *'' In Concert-Carnegie Hall'' (CTI, 1975) *''

'' (Warner Bros., 1976) *''

In Flight In baseball, the rules state that a batted ball is considered in flight when it has not yet touched any object other than a fielder or his equipment. Such a ball can be caught by a fielder to put the batter out. Once a batted ball touches the g ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1977) *''

Weekend in L.A. ''Weekend in L.A.'' is a 1978 live album by jazz/soul guitarist George Benson. The album was recorded live at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Track listing #"Weekend in L.A." (George Benso ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1977) *''

Livin' Inside Your Love ''Livin' Inside Your Love'' is the seventeenth album by jazz guitarist George Benson which was released in 1979. In the United States, it was certified Gold by the RIAA. Track listing Side A # "Livin' Inside Your Love" (Earl Klugh) – 6:37 # " ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1979) With

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

*''

'' (CBS, 1987) *''

'' (CBS, 1988) With

*'' Alive!'' (Blue Note, 1970) *'' Live at Club Mozambique'' (Blue Note, 1971

006 Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film '' GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Ale ...

With

The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most ...

*''

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

'' (Epic, 1980) With Robbie Robertson *'' Storyville'' (Geffen, 1991) With Jeremy Cohn *'' Scrimpin in the Summertime'' (Popsicle Toes, 2018) With

*'' Wonderland'' (Blue Note, 1986) With Stevie Wonder *''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...

'' (Tamla, 1976) With Grover Washington Jr. *'' Time Out of Mind'' (Columbia, 1989)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Ronnie 1950 births Living people Soul-jazz musicians American jazz organists American male organists Record producers from New York (state) Musicians from Buffalo, New York Blue Note Records artists Columbia Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century organists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American keyboardists Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people