Ronnie Foster and Me...

Can I tell you how I met Jimmy Smith? This is important for me. The owner of Royal Arms would always sneak me in because I wasn't supposed to be in at twelve years old. He knew I loved music, so he said, "You get your butt over in that corner and you stay there and you can't move." And that corner happened to be on the side of the stage where everybody went up, so I had a bird's eye view of what was going on onstage. Jimmy was coming in and I called the owner and I said, "Hey, where's Jimmy staying?" He named some motel in Buffalo. I called Jimmy, and I still laugh about this, Jimmy picked up the phone. 'Hello,' I said, 'Yeah Jimmy, Mr. Smith, this is Ronnie Foster, I'm a little young organ player around here, you got to show me something.' And he said, "Boy, when you hear me play, you won't want to play anymore." And so I said, 'No, no , no Mr. Smith, I really love to play.' And he said, "Boy, you're not listening to me, when you hear me play, you're going to want to throw your organ away." I'm going, 'No, no, no.' But you know why he was doing that? Because he wanted to know how hungry I was, right? So he said, "Okay, what time you get out of school?" And I said, '3:00.' He said, "You meet me over at the club," and the rest is history. When he was in town, I was with him every night and we got a great relationship moving forward as I got older until he passed. He was really amazing and it really pisses me off when people say, "Oh Jimmy Smith is so overrated." How can he be overrated? He created the genre. He had his own voice and his own vocabulary on that instrument, which was his and his only. And there's a lot of organists that play bebop, they've taken that direction, But Jimmy was very, very special, very, very unique.

Ronnie Foster

Blue Note has always stood for The Art of Jazz. 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. I had some albums, my friends had other albums. When something new came out, we'd go to someone's house and we'd all check it out together. From Horace Silver and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to Donald Byrd and Herbie Hancock. Blue Note's roster was the cream of the crop - the center. 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!

Ronnie Foster

Two Headed Freap (1972) signed by Ronnie

I first found out that musicians were sampling "Mystic Brew" when one of the forefathers of acid jazz in the UK called me to ask if he could remix it. He told me he loved my music and mentioned that A Tribe Called Quest had already done something with the song. I was unaware of Tribe's sample, so I went out and bought Midnight Marauders and listened to the song "Electric Relaxation." I realized that the group had not asked for permission to sample. In those early days of hip hop, it was common for people not to ask for permission to sample, but I still felt violated by them not asking. I reached out to Blue Note, and they got it all handled. But it seems things have mostly changed since then in terms of respecting the source material. I've been trying to get a hold of J. Cole so I can thank him for his song "Neighbors." The song uses "Mystic Brew" but the sample was actually of the song played backward. I would never have known about the sample if he hadn't credited me for it. It was beautiful that he credited me for my work.

Ronnie Foster

I'll tell you a really great story. Jimmy Smith called me one day, he says, "Ronnie, Michael and Quincy sent me over this tune, I need your help. You've got to tell me what to play." I said, 'What are you talking about?' The tune was "Bad" which a lot of people don't know that that's him on organ. That organ solo is his. And he sent me the track and I said, 'Jimmy, just play you.'

Ronnie Foster - The child is father to the man

Sweet Revival (1973) signed by Ronnie

An accomplished Hammond B3 organist, arranger and composer, Ronnie Foster has had a remarkable career. He released his first solo album fifty years ago on the acclaimed Blue Note record label, then dropped out of sight until his recent resigning and his heralded 2022 release, aptly named Reboot. Although his profile was low key in the ensuing years, Ronnie was productive, especially in the studio, performing with George Benson on Breezin' and Weekend In L.A., Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway on "The Closer I Get To You," The Jacksons on "Can You Feel It," Stevie Wonder on "Summer Soft," and producing artists David Sanborn, Stanley Turrentine and Chayanne, a Latin American artist who has sold more than fifty million records. And his influence didn’t stop there, Ronnie's recordings have been sampled by noted hip hop artists A Tribe Called Quest, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and so many others. It's been a long and winding journey from Ronnie's home town of Buffalo, New York where it all started.

Initially, Ronnie played classical piano as a child, then switched to organ, transfixed by jazz music and the wide spell cast by the inimitable organ maestro Jimmy Smith. A gifted player, it was a tough slog to get gigs. Ronnie recalled his humble beginnings, "My first professional gig was at fourteen, and this club was a supper club. The only reason I could work was because it was a supper club. So James Clark was a great guitarist out of Buffalo who worked with Grover Washington. You know, Grover came out of Buffalo...anyway they hired me for the gig and they said, 'So, now we'll practice the music for the exotic dancer.' So remember, I'm fourteen...we're running over "Caravan" and she starts taking off stuff, Well, I... all of a sudden, lose track of what I'm doing, and I just kind of hold the note down. The bandleader shouts at me, "Ronnie, Ronnie," 'Oh okay, I got it.' And that was my first pro gig, that's how I started. And these guys, actually, the first night, they took me back in the kitchen and they pushed me up against a wall, and they said, "We see you doing any stupid shit, we're going to kick your motherf...ing ass. So just play your instrument." So that was a good foundation, because I've only been drunk twice in my life. They treated me like a kid, you know, like their kids. That was a good foundation."

George Benson Breezin' (1976) signed by Ronnie

More good fortune happened when Jimmy Smith introduced Ronnie to George Benson, "Yeah, I feel so humble. Just think, when Jimmy introduced me to George at fourteen, that really changed my whole path. Like, I got a lot of notoriety or whatever you want to call it. I'm not saying that in an ego way, I'm just saying this was developed through my relationship with George. I'm still humbled." When they met in 1964, George Benson was a hot young guitar phenom, not the jazz pop superstar that he would become a decade later. George had recently released The New Boss Guitar Of George Benson with his current employer Jack McDuff sitting in, and George and Ronnie kindled a friendship which extends warmly till this day. Years later, Ronnie would tour and record with George on his platinum selling Breezin' and the equally successful Weekend In L.A.. However, before he joined up with George, and after he graduated from high school, Ronnie was enlisted by another powerhouse guitarist Grant Green. Ronnie toured with Grant and he played organ on Alive!, an incendiary live album recorded in 1970 at the Cliche Lounge, one of Newark, New Jersey's finest sweat boxes.

Cheshire Cat (1975) signed by Ronnie

That gig led to Ronnie getting signed and eventually recording for Blue Note, as Ronnie remembered, "After the (Alive!) session was over, Francis Wolff - one of the co-founders of Blue Note - walked up to me and said, "Hey Ronnie, how would you like to have a deal with Blue Note?" And I go, 'Yeah.' Unfortunately, he passed away, and then Blue Note was kind of up in a gray area, because they were trying to find someone to run Blue Note. But then I found out who that was, which was Dr. George Butler, and I called him up and I said, 'Hey you know Francis offered me a deal, you know I'd like to do it.' And he said, "Where are you playing?" And I said, 'I'm playing at this club in Detroit.' He said, "Oh, I'll fly out to check you out." He came out, and after the first set, he said, "Yep, I'm signing you." You know, it was like that, a very beautiful situation. I was with George through that and then I did two other albums for him at Columbia."

His first two releases on Blue Note in 1972, Two Headed Freap and Sweet Revival, were soul jazz workouts featuring well worn covers of soul classics "Let's Stay Together," "Back Stabbers," "Me And Mrs. Jones," and originals like "Mystic Brew" which became a deep reservoir for hip hop samples by A Tribe Called Quest, Childish Gambino, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. In all, Ronnie released five albums on the storied Blue Note label, but when label head Dr. George Butler left to join Columbia Records, Ronnie departed as well, and he released two albums to little notice or fanfare in 1978 and 1979. In the 1970s, Jazz was in transition and struggling to be commercially viable and artistically relevant. Nonetheless, Ronnie released The Racer in 1986, and, mostly, focused on studio work and production in the ensuing decades. Thus, it was quite surprising that Blue Note resigned him and released a new album, a mere thirty-six years later. If it weren't true, it would be as unlikely as it is unbelievable.

Reboot (2022) signed by Ronnie

Ronnie related the improbability of it all, “Yes, I was talking to somebody and they said, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this, coming back after fifty years.’ My thanks go out to (Blue Note President) Don Was for having that vision. He said, ‘Man, your stuff is killing.’ He’s the right guy for Blue Note because he is so musical, he still gigs on the weekend. I was very excited, the company was very excited. Now I’m building some stuff to go out because they asked, ‘Do you want a tour?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ I’m going out on the road which I love. We play from an emotional base because I’m an emotionally based person and that’s the only thing I can do. I love that people are on the journey with us when we play.”

Love Satellite (1978) signed by Ronnie

I was lucky to see Ronnie and his trio perform to a packed house at the Blue Note on April 24, 2023. Now living in Las Vegas, it had been decades since Ronnie had headlined a gig in New York City, and the excitement and tension in the club was palpable. Showcasing songs from Reboot, Ronnie was joined by longtime colleague Mike O’Neil on guitar, a rhythm guitarist for George Benson for decades, and his son Chris Foster on drums. For this special occasion, Ronnie had two guests: Isaiah Sharkey on guitar and James Carter on tenor saxophone. Not surprisingly, Ronnie opened with “Blues For J,” a rollicking groover written and recorded in 1965 by, as he said, “my mentor and hero Jimmy Smith.” Other highlights included “Carlos,” an homage to his great friend Carlos Santana with furious Spanish flamenco flourishes by Mike O’Neil, “Two Headed Freap,” titled by Ronnie because of the two concurrent melodies percolating throughout, with Isaiah Sharkey, a fleet fingered guitar slinger adding tasty fills, and a buoyant “Isn’t She Lovely,” written by his longtime friend Stevie Wonder, with James Carter adding a soulful tenor saxophone. Ronnie and his trio played for nearly two hours, prolly a Blue Note record, especially since they had a second show. It was an incredible night of music.

Silk Fuse One signed by Ronnie 1981

After the show, I bounded up the stairs to get some records signed. I waited, and I waited. Finally, after twenty minutes - it seemed an eternity - I went back downstairs, and there was Ronnie, surrounded by friends and fans, a conga line of well wishers snaking through the club, waiting to exchange thanks and praises with the maestro. He took selfies, signed albums and CDs, seemingly reveling in the adulation which he so richly deserved. When it was my turn near the end, I told him how much I enjoyed the music and how great the band sounded. Ronnie was gracious and smiled as he signed the records, “ You know, you got some history here,” he said as he signed the Silk records, a supergroup of musicians including George Benson, Stanley Clarke, Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White, and a nineteen year old Wynton Marsalis. When he signed Wonderland, a Stanley Turrentine album of Stevie Wonder songs which he produced, “You know I love this album and I’ll tell you a story. I had all the arrangements done and we had booked time at the studio, but we hadn’t heard from Stanley for weeks. Nothing, there were no cell phones back then. Two days before, he called and said he’d be at the studio. So we went to the studio and Stanley showed up and played beautifully. Man, he had that stuff down. Later, we found out that he had been in rehab and had just gotten out. Man, he was beautiful and could he play!” I thanked Ronnie again for his time and music, and I couldn’t resist imploring him to come back to New York for a more extended visit to share his considerable talents.

A wonderful arranger, composer, musician and producer, Ronnie Foster is deserving of far wider acclaim. Hopefully, that happens with his re-association with Blue Note. As he once said, “No matter what genre you’re playing, you play you. You pay respect to the circumstances that made your music, but music is music, and it’s beautiful.” And Ronnie is as beautiful as his music.