Mo Foster
Mo Foster wielding a custom built Moon 5 string bass at a session at Whitfield St. Studios, London
Background information
Origin	Surrey, UK
Genre(s)	Jazz fusion Rock Ambient
Occupation(s)	Composer, bassist, author
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar Drums Keyboards
Years active	1968 – Present
Label(s)	Angel Air
Associated acts	The Tradewinds The Baskervilles Affinity Fancy RMS The Shadows RJ Wagsmith Band
Website	www.mofoster.com
Notable instrument(s)
Fretless Fender Jazz Bass Fender Precision Bass

Mo Foster is a highly respected British session musician, playing primarily jazz, jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar. He is also an in-demand and highly-regarded music producer, songwriter/composer and author.

Contents 1 The Early Years 2 The University Years 3 The Session Years 4 The Jazz Years 5 The Solo Years 5.1 Discography 5.1.1 Additional projects 6 The Author Years 7 The Non-Muso Years 8 Trivia 9 References 10 Links 11 Notes

The Early Years

Mo's first dalliance as a musician in public was as the bass player (utilising a Dallas Tuxedo bass) in his school band, The Tradewinds.

The University Years

Mo studied physics and maths at the University of Sussex in the mid-1960s. During his student days he played both drums and bass in a wide variety of bands. During the middle of 1968 Mo, along with friends Lynton Naiff, Mike Jopp, Grant Serpell and Linda Hoyle, formed the progressive jazz/rock group Affinity, managed by the late Ronnie Scott.

The Session Years

As a studio session musician, he has played on over 350 albums - and many singles - by artists as varied as: Phil Collins, Jeff Beck, Gerry Rafferty, Ringo Starr, Frida (of ABBA), Gary Moore, Cher, Peter Green, Elkie Brooks, Michael Schenker Group, Olivia Newton-John, Neil Innes, Judie Tzuke, Sheena Easton, Meat Loaf, Andrew Lloyd-Webber & Tim Rice, Luka Bloom, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The London Symphony Orchestra plus numerous others.

During his session career he has worked at studios around the world, in the UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Caribbean, France, Italy, and Japan. He has also played on several major world tours, most notably with Jeff Beck and Phil Collins.

The Jazz Years

In the mid to late 80's Mo was the ‘M‘ in the jazz/rock trio called RMS with fellow session musos, Ray Russell and Simon Phillips. They released (originally on Peter Van Hooke's then at the time fledgling MMC record label) an album called Centennial Park which was remastered and re-released in 2002 on the Angel Air record label. This in turn prompted the release of a live album from 1982 that had never been heard publically before. RMS: Live at the Venue, 1982.

As a result of the success of these two CD releases, a DVD (which featured guests appearances by Gil Evans and Mark Isham) was released a year later. RMS: Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival, 1983. Both the CDs and DVD were produced by Mo and Ray Russell.

The Solo Years

At the latter end of the 1980s Mo decided that he would like the freedom to perform, produce and record his own music rather than someone else's. He was easily able to call on some of his many friends who happened to be some of the UK's foremost session musicians to help him. Since 1987 he has released four solo albums, all of which feature some of the best instrumentalists in the world.

Bel Assis (featuring Gary Moore), Southern Reunion (featuring Gary Moore and Snail's Pace Slim of The Hamsters), Time To Think and Live At Blues West 14.

Discography

• Bel Assis (1988)
• Southern Reunion (1991)
• Time To Think (2002)
• Live At Blues West 14 (2006)
• Belsize Lane (2007) (Limited Issue)

Additional projects

• Survivors - Survivors
• RJ Wagsmith Band - Make Tea Not War

The Author Years

In 1997 Mo authored a semi-autobiographical and anecdotal book about the birth and rise of Rock guitar in the UK during the period 1955 - 1975.

The book's title is Seventeen Watts?, the title having come from the school band member's quandary of "do we really need that much power?" when a 17W Watkins Dominator Amplifier was acquired as a replacement for the 'aging' 5W amp they had previously been using.

The first half of the book covers the emergence of a new breed of musician, the "Rock Guitarist" and features many anecdotes of the efforts of now legendary guitarists to not only learn the latest chord but to have to figure out how to build their own guitar because they couldn't afford the shiny one in the music shop window. There are stories and quotes from such six-string luminaries as Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Brown, Clem Cattini, Eric Clapton, Lonnie Donegan, Vic Flick, Herbie Flowers, Roger Glover, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Gary Moore, Joe Moretti, Pino Palladino, Rick Parfitt, John Paul Jones, Francis Rossi, Gerry Rafferty, Mike Rutherford, Big Jim Sullivan, Andy Summers, Richard Thompson, Bert Weedon, Bruce Welch, and Muff Winwood.

The second half of Seventeen Watts? is devoted to the rise and eventual demise of the London studio session scene. Mo tried to present an insider's view of this creative world, and the wonderful absurdity of musicians' humour in general.

The Non-Muso Years

Most recently he has worked as an interviewer on the recent UK Channel 4 series Live From Abbey Road , which involved interviewing musicians and bands who were performing live sets at EMI's world-famous Abbey Road Studios.

Trivia

• He currently lives with his film producer wife, Kay, in North London.
• Mo is vegetarian and loves Indian cuisine.

References

• Seventeen Watts? - Mo Foster - Sanctuary Publishing, first published 1997.

Links

• Mo Foster's website

Notes

v • d • e Mo Foster
Discography Bel Assis • Southern Reunion • Time To Think • Live At Blues West 14 • Belsize Lane •