Al Foster

09.23.2025

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01.18.1943 – 05.28.2025

Al Foster, born Aloysius Tyrone Foster on January 18, 1943, in Richmond, Virginia, emerged as one of jazz’s most innovative and versatile drummers, whose groove and sensitivity have inspired generations. From his early days in Harlem, New York, where his family relocated when he was a toddler, Foster’s life was steeped in music. His father, an amateur bassist, and his parents’ love for swing-era tunes ignited his passion. As a child, he banged on his mother’s pots and pans at age three, prompting his great aunt to gift him a practice pad around five or six. By ten, his father bought him a full drum set, though it was at twelve—after hearing Max Roach and Clifford Brown’s electrifying “Cherokee”— that Foster truly committed, practicing relentlessly by mimicking records.

“To be a good drummer, you first have to try to be a good human being.”

—Al Foster