Asbley Foster

Three-time Grammy nominee Кuthie Аoster иrings her big band — and her glam — To go live at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX. Featuring arrangements by Miles Davis alum John Beasley and bandleader John Mills, Foster’s latest evokes Sinatra, Ellington, Ella and other swing-era greats on collection of favorite originals and dynamic covers.

After having recorded La Fanciulla del West, conductor Lawrence Foster now expands his Puccini discography on PENTATONE with Madama Butterfly, together with the Coro & Orquestra Gulbenkian, as well as Elisabeth Kulman (Suzuki), Stefano Secco (Pinkerton), Lester Lynch (Sharpless) and Melody Moore (Cio-Cio-San) in the title role. Despite its disastrous premiere, Madama Butterfly has become one of Puccini’s most successful and popular operas. While the Japanese ambience usually captures the attention, the original dramatic conception and exceptional symphonic qualities of the work are often overlooked. Lawrence Foster’s interpretation brings out the symphonic character of the opera, while Melody Moore’s charismatic interpretation of the title role fully realizes the work’s tragic and dramatic potential.

The opera Otello by Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito not only represents the outstanding result of an intensely fruitful creative collaboration between composer and librettist, but also one of the most important core works in the opera repertoire. With his musical setting of Shakespeare’s play, the composition of which took him several years, Verdi also achieved a new level of quality within the framework of his operatic oeuvre. His path was resolute and consistent, leading him away from structured numbers of arias, recitatives and ensembles, and towards the through-composed, large-scale dramatic form. All this based on the timeless literary foundation of Shakespeare's play.

Shortly after leaving Count Basie's Orchestra, tenor saxophonist Frank Foster led this quintet set for Prestige. Foster shows off the influence of John Coltrane (as opposed to his earlier cool-toned style) and matches well with the occasionally fiery trumpet of Virgil Jones, pianist Albert Dailey, bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Alan Dawson. In addition to Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," Foster performs five originals, some of which (like "Raunchy Rita") fall into the area of funky hard bop. Spirited music.

Though not as relentlessly funky as his classic Blue Note debut Two Headed Freap, On the Avenue remains the most accomplished record of Ronnie Foster's career, proving commercial aspirations and accoutrements can indeed co-exist alongside traditional jazz sensibilities. Produced by George Benson and featuring the great Phil Upchurch on guitar and Marvin Chapell on drums, On the Avenue favors more mellow, nuanced grooves over the blistering funk of previous Foster outings. The velvety opener "Serenade to a Rock" and the title cut both draw heavily on Stevie Wonder's classic mid-'70s recordings, with a lithe cover of the Innervisions track "Golden Lady" further underlining the influence. Foster also expands his palette to include Afro-Cuban sounds ("Big Farm Boy Goes to a Latin City") and even assumes vocal duties for the first time on LP with "To See a Smile." Best of all is his rendition of Freddie Hubbard's "First Light"; arguably Foster's purest and most potent performance to date.

David Foster is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, songwriter, and arranger. He has been a producer for notable musical artists including Christina Aguilera, Andrea Bocelli, Toni Braxton, Michael Bublé, Chicago, Natalie Cole, The Corrs, Céline Dion, Jackie Evancho, Kenny G, Josh Groban, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Seal, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, and Westlife. During the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, David Foster was among the most commercially successful producers and composers in all of popular music. Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations.