Biography
Born on 18 May 1892 in McCall, Louisiana, and deceased on 30 October 1969 in San Francisco, California, George “Pops” Foster ranked among the earliest innovators on string bass. He launched his career on cello before taking up brass bass on occasion. Early in the century he appeared in New Orleans alongside Kid Ory, King Oliver and other leaders; in 1917 he signed on with Fate Marable’s riverboat ensemble and later joined the California band Ory directed during the first years of the 1920s. The middle of that decade found him active around St. Louis; by its close he had reached New York, where he joined Luis Russell. He remained with Russell for several seasons, during which the group effectively served as Louis Armstrong’s orchestra. With the revival under way in 1940, Foster found plentiful work as a freelancer and performed in ensembles directed by Sidney Bechet and Jimmy Archey. He continued performing through the 1950s and into the early 1960s, touring both the United States and Europe with Sammy Price and also working in San Francisco’s Hangover Club under Earl Hines as well as in bands led by Elmer Snowden. Although firmly grounded in New Orleans tradition, Foster’s long-standing choice of string bass—played in the characteristic slapping style—proved advantageous once broader musical shifts arrived.
Albums
