℗ 2022 Smoke Sessions Records
| Released | August 26, 2022 |
| Duration | 1h 07m 49s |
| Record Label | Smoke Sessions |
| Genre | Jazz |
|
1.1
|
T.S. Monk
Al Foster |
6:20 | |||
|
1.2
|
Pent-Up House
Al Foster |
5:04 | |||
|
1.3
|
Open Plans
Al Foster |
7:17 | |||
|
1.4
|
Blues on the Corner
Al Foster |
6:23 | |||
|
1.5
|
Anastasia
Al Foster |
5:32 | |||
|
1.6
|
Six
Al Foster |
8:21 | |||
|
1.7
|
Punjab
Al Foster |
5:11 | |||
|
1.8
|
Beat
Al Foster |
6:56 | |||
|
1.9
|
Alone and I
Al Foster |
4:51 | |||
|
1.10
|
Half Nelson
Al Foster |
5:36 | |||
|
1.11
|
Monk's Bossa
Al Foster |
6:18 |
Approaching 80 years of age is occasion enough for anyone to take a moment and look back on a life well lived. For revered drummer Al Foster, those eight decades have been more memorable than most, filled with exhilarating sounds and encounters with some of the music’s most iconic figures. On Reflections, his second album for Smoke Sessions Records, Foster revisits the work of several of his legendary peers alongside an inspiring quintet of all-stars: Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, Kevin Hays on piano and keyboards, and Vicente Archer on bass.
Reflections finds Foster – as ever – playing at rarefied levels of chops, creativity and musicality. Throughout the session he propels this supremely talented unit through fresh, vital treatments of well-known and less-traveled numbers by iconic legends Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, and McCoy Tyner, all of whom regarded Foster as their first-call drummer for long portions of his celebrated career – at times competing for his services. Band members Payton, Potter and Hays contribute a tune apiece, while Foster penned three well-wrought songs, including two homages to Thelonious Monk that bookend the program.
The follow-up to his well-received 2019 Smoke Sessions debut, Inspirations & Dedications, is Foster’s fifth leader recording and, as even the notoriously self-critical drummer surprisingly says, “It is my best record as a leader.” Bringing together the influences he gleaned and experiences he shared with his idols and peers with the rejuvenating energy of this younger cohort of brilliant players, the humble Foster takes well-deserved pride in his accomplishments.
96 kHz / 24-bit PCM – Smoke Sessions Studio Masters
| Track title | Peak (dB FS) | RMS (dB FS) | LUFS (integrated) | DR | |
Album average Range of values | -1.18 -1.20 to -1.00 | -16.11 -18.94 to -13.85 | -13.24 -16.10 to -11.10 | 10 8 to 12 | |
| 1 | T.S. Monk | -1.20 | -15.01 | -12.1 | 9 |
| 2 | Pent-Up House | -1.20 | -13.85 | -11.1 | 8 |
| 3 | Open Plans | -1.20 | -17.17 | -14.4 | 10 |
| 4 | Blues on the Corner | -1.20 | -16.12 | -13.2 | 10 |
| 5 | Anastasia | -1.20 | -16.18 | -13.2 | 9 |
| 6 | Six | -1.20 | -15.36 | -12.7 | 10 |
| 7 | Punjab | -1.20 | -15.33 | -12.4 | 9 |
| 8 | Beat | -1.20 | -18.58 | -15.5 | 12 |
| 9 | Alone and I | -1.00 | -18.94 | -16.1 | 12 |
| 10 | Half Nelson | -1.20 | -14.82 | -12.0 | 9 |
| 11 | Monk's Bossa | -1.20 | -15.87 | -12.9 | 9 |