Miles Away: Al Foster in Israel
June 18th, 2007 by Lior ShamirAl Foster, one of the most exciting drummers in the world of Jazz arrived in Israel this week for a series of performances with a virtuosic crew consisting of Eli Degibri (Sax), Aron Goldberg (Piano) and Doug Wise (Bass). At 63, but seemingly at the peak of his youth, Foster has over a decade with Miles Davis under his belt and a resume of recordings and performances so vast that you shall probably discover his trademark if you own a couple of Jazz greats in your repertoire.
Credits aside, Foster brings to the stage such flare and sensitivity that even the impartial to Jazz immediately fixate on him before attempting to wrap their heads around the effortless wizardry of his motley three. Yes, it’s his gig but his leadership is subtle and spontaneous. What you hear from this quartet is a musical relationship founded on the mutual joy of hearing one another play.
Last night’s performance was, as expected, fabulous. Although many of us came to see Al Foster cook, the spotlight shuffled from one musician to another as each took his turn improvising over the forms of classics such as “So What” (Miles Davis), “Cantaloupe Man” (Herbie Hancock) and “Blue and Green” (Bill Evans). In terms of a Jazz exhibition, it is fair to say that what we witnessed was nothing short of genius.
Toward the end of the show, I asked a fellow Englishman which he would prefer, to be able play like ‘that’, or play professional football. “Close call”, he replied.