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Count Basie's saxophonist Frank Foster dead at 82
Jul 27, 2011, 11:13 GMT
New York - Frank Foster, star saxophonist for jazz legend Count Basie, died at the age of 82 at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, according to a report Wednesday in the New York Times.
Having played in jazz bands from the age of 12, Foster in 1953 joined the Count Basie Orchestra, one of the largest and best known practitioners of swing jazz.
With Count Basie, he not only played but arranged and composed works, including for singer Frank Sinatra, among others.
Foster led the orchestra between 1986 and 1995 after Basie's death in 1984.
Foster suffered a debilitating heart attack in 2001. Upon his release from hospital after a stay this year, his church honoured him with his own concert. The white-haired Foster directed from a wheelchair.
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