The Frank Foster Papers span the dates 1930 to 2013, with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1950s to 2009. The papers consist chiefly of scores and parts composed or arranged by Foster for big bands and other large jazz ensembles, including works written for the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1950s-1960s and again in the 1980s-1990s, as well as works for The Loud Minority, and numerous other bands and organizations for which Foster was commissioned to compose. The collection is arranged in the following series: Compositions by Frank Foster, Compositions by Others, Personal Files, and Audio and Moving Image Materials. The compositions series are organized into Letter-Sized, Legal-Sized and Oversized subseries. The personal files consist of autobiographical writings, correspondence, photographs, business records, publicity, reviews, and news clippings; and subject files on musical collaborations, music teaching, organizations and individuals, and family history. Audio and moving image materials are primarily concert recordings featuring Foster from the 1970s through the 1990s. Acquired as part of the Jazz Archive at Duke University.
Frank B. Foster, III was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 23, 1928. He attended Wilberforce University and in 1949 moved to Detroit and began playing in jazz clubs with musicians such as Wardell Gray. He was drafted into the military in 1951 and served in Korea.
In the early 1950s his first two solo albums were released on Blue Note Records: "Here Comes Frank Foster" (1953) and "New Faces, New Sounds" (1954). He was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra from 1953-1964, contributing both arrangements and original compositions including the well-known "Shiny Stockings, " "Down for the Count, " "Blues Backstage, " "Back to the Apple, " and "Discommotion, " as well as arrangements for the band's "Easin' It" album. Foster has also performed in bands including The Lloyd Price Big Band, Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra, Woody Herman and his Orchestra, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and Elvin Jones's Jazz Machine. By the 1970s Foster formed several groups on his own, including The Non-Electric Company, Living Color and The Loud Minority. In 1980, Foster's "Lake Placid Suite" was performed as a part of the Winter Olympic Games, and in 1983 Dizzy Gillespie personally commissioned Foster to orchestrate one of the jazz icon's compositions, "Con Alma, " for a scheduled performance and recording with The London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Robert Farnon. In 1986 Foster succeeded Thad Jones as the leader of the Count Basie Orchestra, and remained with the band until 1995. During that time he won two Grammy Awards for his arrangements of "Deedles' Blues" (1987) and "Basie's Bag" (1988).
Foster's career also included a strong interest in teaching. In 1971 he served as Artist-In-Residence for the New England Conservatory of Music. He also began teaching music for the N.Y. Public Schools in Harlem under the Title I program, "Cultural Enrichment Through Music, Dance, and Song." From 1972 to 1976, Foster was an Assistant Professor in the Black Studies Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY). He has also worked as an adjunct professor at institutions including The New School for Social Research and New York University. In 1987, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Central State (formerly Wilberforce) University.
During his long musical career, Foster has been commissioned to compose and arrange works for The Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble, The Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra, The Jazzmobile Corporation of New York City, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, The Harpers Ferry Historical Association, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and many others. In 2002 Foster received the Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2001 he suffered a stroke that impaired his left side and caused him to cease performing on saxophone. He continues to compose and arrange for a variety of bands and leads a revival of The Loud Minority in limited engagements.
Selected Discography
| Date |
Event |
| 1953 | Here Comes Frank Foster (Blue Note) |
| 1954 | New Faces, New Sounds (Blue Note) |
| 1956 | Two Franks Please! (Savoy) |
| 1956 | No Count (Savoy) |
| 1963 | Basie Is Our Boss (Argo) |
| 1965 | Fearless Frank Foster (Prestige) |
| 1969 | Frank Foster (Blue Note) |
| 1974 | The Loud Minority (Mainstream) |
| 1977 | Shiny Stockings (Denon) |
| 1979 | Non-Electric Company (EPM Musique) |
| 1982 | The House That Love Built (SteepleChase) |
| 1983 | Two for the Blues (Pablo/OJC) |
| 1984 | Frankly Speaking (Concord Jazz) |
| 1995 | A Fresh Taste of Thad Jones and Frank Foster (Hanssler Classics) |
| 1996 | Leo Rising (Arabesque) |
| 1998 | Swing (live) (Challenge) |
| 2002 | Live at Feuerwache Mannheim (Bassic) |
| 2003 | We Do It Diff'rent (live) (Mapleshade) |
| 2005 | Endless Fingers (Arabesque |
| 2007 | Well Water (Piadrum) |
Processed by Senem Acar, July 2009; George Lam and Zeke Graves, July 2010; Laurin Penland, July 2017.
Encoded by Paula Jeannet, July 2009; and George Lam, July 2010.
Accessions 2009-0122, 2010-0087, and 2017-0085 are described in this finding aid.
