Recording of the Week, Ronnie Foster, 'Reboot'

Photo by Jen Rosenstein

When it comes to organ trio albums, Blue Note has the motherlode, with a string of classic sessions stretching back to the fifties, featuring such key names as Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, Jack McDuff, and the recently departed Dr. Lonnie Smith, to name but a few. Nestled in amongst that canon are five oft-overlooked albums that Ronnie Foster recorded for the label in the early seventies, starting with the ebullient Two Headed Freap from 1972. Being born in 1950, Foster was at least a generation younger than his Hammond forebears; “I grew up on Blue Note, listening to all the greats. It was ingrained early. I was exposed to it through my own path and other people’s paths – fans and players… And, of course, they brought Jimmy [Smith] on the scene. The stuff he was playing on The Sermon and Groovin’ at Smalls’ Paradise was crazy! Had me listening on headphones at the Buffalo Public Library.”

A native New Yorker, Foster earned his living primarily as a sideman for a dazzling array of leaders: Grant Green, Stanley Turrentine and Grover Washington Jr., Roberta Flack and Stevie Wonder. Perhaps most notably he was a key member of George Benson’s band as it evolved into a chart-topping R&B pop hit machine. Foster played in a choppy, stripped down style that emphasised the funk grooves of Sly and Family Stone and James Brown just as much as the lounge sensibilities of vintage Hammond trios. To the wider world he is probably best-known for ‘Mystic Brew’, the track that provided A Tribe Called Quest with the atmospheric sample on ‘Electric Relaxation’ from their 1994 album Midnight Marauders. After that sweet spot of his Blue Note records Foster has since only recorded a handful of albums, and seemingly nothing since 1986’s The Racer, which makes Reboot such an unexpected delight.

Photo by Jen Rosenstein

Foster describes ‘Reboot’, the opening title track as “organ music…but a little different. This is where my head is at now – and where I’m going.” The melodic pop sensibilities of Foster’s years with George Benson are much in evidence here in the directness of the main theme, and the rock steady groove laid down by his son, Chris (one of three appearances on the album). Aside from one cover, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, the album consists entirely of originals by Foster, which lends the collection a nice cohesion. Throughout the dynamic between Foster and electric guitarist Michael O’Neill, that timeless combo of organ and guitar is the driving force. O’Neil is a subtle player, more than capable of matching Foster’s delicate touch, although there are plenty of spaces where things heat up, as on the title track and ‘Swingin’’.

A highlight of the set is found on ‘Carlos’, Foster’s colourful tribute to Latin-rock fusion guitarist Carlos Santana. The melody is so convincingly Santana-esque that on first listen I could have sworn it was a cover, but it is indeed original, and underscores just how memorable a composer Foster can be. Opening with an evocative flamenco guitar intro courtesy of Jerry Lopez, Foster and O’Neill are soon joined by conga player Lenny Castro, percussionist Luis Conte, and drummer Jim Branly, all of whom cook up an infectious latin brew.

The gospel influenced solo ‘J’s Dream’ offers us the opportunity to hear Foster alone with his B3, and fully enjoy the warm range of the instrument. Listening to it through headphones has a rather hypnotic effect, with that unmistakable undulating B-3 tone-wheel sound, and satisfyingly deep pedal notes. The moving closing track ‘After Conversation with Nadia’ finds Foster switching his B3, communing with himself on solo acoustic piano. With ‘Reboot Foster has proved there’s an abundance of inspiration yet to be tapped into, so let’s hope he follows this up in a year or two, not 36. And if you are itching for more Foster make sure to check out the recent vinyl reissue of Two Headed Freap, which still leaps out of the speakers as joyfully as it did back in 1972.