Artist: Al Foster

Aloysius Tyrone Foster is an American jazz  drummer.

Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and  swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and  Illinois Jacquet. Foster played jazz fusion with Miles Davis  during the 70s and was one of the few people to have contact with Davis during his retirement from 1975–1980.

During Davis's retirement, Foster continued to play and record acoustic jazz with Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, and other band leaders. Foster played on Miles Davis's 1981 comeback album The Man with the Horn, and was the only musician to play in Davis's band both before, and after, his retirement.

After leaving Davis's band in the mid-80s, Foster toured and recorded with  Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, and many other band leaders, primarily working in acoustic jazz settings. Foster has also released several solo albums under his own name, starting with Mixed Roots in 1978. 

Foster began composing in the 1970s, and has toured with his own band, including musicians such as bassist Doug Weiss, saxophonist Dayna Stephens, and pianist Adam Birnbaum. 

Further information about Al Foster is found at AysiusFoster.com.