Al Foster, the versatile master drummer known for his work with Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner and Sonny Rollins, has passed away at the age of 82. His daughter, Kierra Denise Foster Ba, announced his death yesterday afternoon (May 29) in an Instagram post.

Born Aloysius Tyrone Foster on January 18, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia, Foster was raised in Harlem where he was exposed to many of the jazz greats of that time including John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and Art Taylor, whose aunt encouraged Foster’s budding interest in music. Foster’s father, a bassist, gifted him a set of drums that he began playing at age 13.

Foster got his big break at age 20 when he appeared on hard bop trumpeter Blue Mitchell’s 1964 album The Thing to Do. His work with Mitchell led Foster to become one of the most in-demand musicians during the 1960s. His work caught the attention of Miles Davis, who described Foster in his 1989 autobiography as someone who “kept the groove going forever.”

Foster joined Davis’ band from 1972-1985, contributing to Davis’ jazz-funk fusion era with albums such as Get Up With It and Big Fun (1974). After Davis’ retirement in 1975, Foster released his first solo album as bandleader, Mixed Roots, in 1978. He would release seven other albums as bandleader, including 2022’s Reflections, his final album.

In the 1990s, Foster formed his own band, the Al Foster Quartet which included bassist Larry Grenadier, pianist Dave Kikoski, and saxophonist Chris Potter. In 1999, alongside guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano and bassist Dave Holland, Foster formed ScoLoHoFo. The most recent iteration of the Al Foster Quartet included saxophonist Dayna Stephens, pianist Adam Birnbaum, and bassist Douglas Weiss.

Foster continued to tour worldwide and spent the last decade as a resident musician at the Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in Manhattan, whose label Smoke Sessions Records released his final two albums. It was at Smoke earlier this year where Foster performed for the final time as he celebrated his 82nd birthday on January 18.

Alongside his daughter Kierra, Foster is survived by two other daughters and his partner of 47 years, Bonnie Rose Steinberg. No funeral arrangements have been announced at this time.