VOQOTD: Al Foster on taste

“I'm trying to play less when keeping time behind a soloist,” Foster says, “not answering every phrase with the left hand and bass drum. You want to be on it, but not on everything. I'm also working on playing as tastefully as possible. That's what's missing from these younger players.”

“Miles told me, 'If you don't hear it, don't play it.'”

— Al Foster, quoted in Modern Drummer