Jazz Police - Al Foster/George Mraz Quartet w/ Mark Turner, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap: Music of Joe Henderson

Al Foster/George Mraz Quartet w/ Mark Turner, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap: Music of Joe Henderson

Written by Ronaldo Oregano
Sunday, 05 August 2012
Joe Henderson One of the more distinctive tenor saxophone voices to have emerged during the 1960s, Joe Henderson's rich tone and strong sense of rhythm influenced scores of tenor saxophonists who followed him. In concert, his aggressive playing was often tempered by a melodic touch on ballads. Over ten years after his passing former associates—drummer Al Foster and bassist George Mraz—convene in an all-star group celebrating Henderson’s enduring legacy as a composer as well as distinctive and influential improviser. That legacy includes now standard jazz compositions such as “Black Narcissus,” “Caribbean Fire Dance,” “Inner Urge,” “In’n Out,” “Isotope,” “The Kicker,” “Our Thing,” “Recorda Me,” “Serenity,” “A Shade of Jade” and many more. The Al Foster / George Mraz Quartet, will performon Tuesday, August 7th through Saturday, August 11th at Birdland in New York. The quintet features Al Foster on drums, George Mraz on bass, Mark Turner on tenor sax, Bill Charlap on piano Tuesday through Thursday night, and Renee Rosnes on piano Friday and Saturday night. Al Foster "I replaced Jack DeJohnette on the drums with Al Foster who I first heard at the Cellar Club on 95th St. in Manhattan. He knocked me out 'cause he had such a groove, and he would just lay it right in there. That was the kind of thing I was looking for. Al could set it up for everybody else to play off and keep the groove going forever, for what I wanted in a drummer, Al Foster had it all." Miles Davis, 1989 Al Foster was born in Richmond, VA, but was raised in New York. He taught himself drums at about the age of 13, and by the age of 16 he was recording with Blue Mitchell (as “Aloysius Foster” on the Blue Note album The Thing to Do). In 1969, at the Cellar Club on 95th St. in Manhattan, Foster got his big break; as he was backing up bassist Earl May in a quartet, his drumming was noticed by trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis hired Foster on the spot as a replacement for Jack DeJohnette, who was then departing the ever-enlarging Davis group of that period. This indeed would prove a long commitment for Foster, who played on every Miles Davis album ranging from Big Fun to You’re Under Arrest, and toured with him extensively. Al Foster left Miles Davis in 1985, and since then has worked independently.Over his lengthy and enduring career Al Foster has worked with a who’s who in jazz which include Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Haden, Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Bobby Hutcherson, Carmen McRae, Chick Corea, Dave Liebman and others. Respected and admired for his keen sensitivity, Foster is known for his unique ability to listen to and playoff others in an almost telepathic way, responding to them with a style that is at once both charismatic and understated. Al Foster, is a great believer in the purity of the music, a genuine artist who continues to push the boundaries of creativity again and again, devoted to preserving and perpetuating the highest standards in jazz today. He is a magnificent all-around-drummer, and his rhythmic chops are renowned in musical styles ranging from bebop to free form to jazz/rock. George Mraz, photo by Jane Farnsworth A native of the Czech Republic, George Mraz was born in 1944. In the winter of 1969 George got a call from Dizzy Gillespie to join his group in New York. After a few weeks with Dizzy, George went on the road with Oscar Peterson for about two years. After that he worked with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra for the next six years. In the late seventies George worked with Stan Getz, New York Jazz Quartet, Zoot Sims, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie and for over ten years with Tommy Flanagan. After leaving Flanagan, George went on to work with Joe Henderson, Hank Jones, Grand Slam (Jim Hall, Joe Lovano, Lewis Nash), DIM (Directions In Music with Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Roy Hargrove), Mc Coy Tyner, Joe Lovano and Hank Jones Quartet, Manhattan Trinity. He also has lead his own quartet with pianist Richie Beirach, drummer Billy Hart, and the lyrically riveting tenor man Rich Perry. (The quartet may be heard on Mraz's Milestone debut Jazz; Beirach and Hart are on the trio date My Foolish Heart, and Perry on Bottom Lines, the 1997 Mraz session featuring favorite works by fellow bassists Jaco Pastorius, Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, Charles Mingus, Buster Williams, and Steve Swallow, plus George himself.) George Mraz has recorded with Oscar Peterson, Tommy Flanagan, Roland Hanna, Hank Jones, Charles Mingus, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, NYJQ, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Toshiko Akioshi, Kenny Drew, Barry Harris, Tete Montoliu, Jimmy Rowles, Larry Willis, Richie Beirach, McCoy Tyner, Adam Makowicz, Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Pepper Adams, Art Pepper, Warne Marshe, Phil Woods, Grover Washington Jr., Archie Shepp, Dave Leibman, Joe Lovano, Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, Kenny Burrell, Larry Coryell, Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Knepper, Bob Brookmeyer, Jon Hendricks, Carmen McRae, Helen Merrill, Elvin Jones and many others. Birdland is located at 315 W. 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan; www.birdlandjazz.com or call (212) 581-3080. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites