The whole ensemble assembled for the last two songs of the night including, singers Moon Williams, Kim Goody, Jimmy Helms and Denny McCaffery

Photo Credit: Tom Cole

Ray Russell, Phil Hilborne, Pete Bullick (guitar); Tony Hymas, Jim Watson (keyboards); John Thirkell, Chris Biscoe, Chris Bowden,Tim Whitehead (brass); George Baldwin, Laurence Cottle (bass); Simon Phillips, Nic France, Ian Palmer (drums); Julian Littman, Graham Preskett (mandolin, violin and accordion); Corrina Silvester, Clem Cattini, Brian Bennett (percussion); Judie Tzuke, Deborah Bonham, Kim Goody, Moon Williams, Denny McCaffery, Jimmy Helms (vocals); Leo Sayer (film tribute vocal performance)

229, Great Portland Street, London, 27 November 2023

Mo Foster was a superb bassist and a much-loved member of the family of musicians. Last Monday, many of them gathered at the 229 music venue in London to celebrate his life and music.

Jazz fans will probably know Mo from his work with Gil Evans (he played in the 1983 Gil Evans British Orchestra); Jeff Beck (he’s on Beck’s third jazz-rock fusion album, There & Back); and RMS (the jazz-rock band, formed with drummer Simon Phillips and guitarist Ray Russell – Gil Evans joined RMS on-stage in Montreux in 1983). He also played on many of Ray Russell’s solo albums. Mo recorded a handful of solo albums, and his last major project was Mo Foster & Friends, a band composed of British jazz musicians playing the music of composers such as Gil Evans, Mike Gibbs and Jaco Pastorius. The band’s last gig was in May 2023 at the Pizza Express in Dean Street, London, barely two months before Mo’s death from cancer in July 2023. He was 78.

Mo was one of the most in-demand session players on the London music scene in the 1970s and 80s, and he played on many pop and rock recordings Including numerous hit singles), as well as countless jingles, library music sessions and TV and film soundtracks. He later branched out into composition, record production and book writing.

The concert was organised by Ray Russell, a friend of Mo’s for some fifty years. “There will never be another Mo – his values and integrity were emblazoned on anything he wrote and played and composed,’ wrote Ray soon after Mo’s death, ‘An empty chair, a lead waiting to be attached to the bass, and an amp that will remain silent, but he will remain long after the song has ended.” The concert programme contained another moving tribute from Ray to Mo.

The concert, whose proceeds are going towards the care of Mo’s widow Kay, was hosted by both Ray and singer Kim Goody. The evening was devoted to playing music Mo had composed, recorded or performed, and there was a diverse range of musicians on the stage. ‘This is a night of great cheer,’ announced Russell at the start of the concert, ‘I don’t want to catch anyone being sad, because this is a celebration of Mo’s life.’ This proved to be the case, because the evening was full of laughter, with many people swapping anecdotes about Mo and re-telling some of his favourite jokes.

Before the start of the music, a photo montage cataloguing Mo’s musical career was shown on a big screen, followed by a video of Mo talking about his life. The opening act was the band Mo Foster & Friends, with Ray Russell, Jim Watson (keys), Chris Briscoe (alto and soprano sax), Corrina Silvester (percussion) and Laurence Cottle taking the place of Mo on bass. The band started with one of Mo’s compositions, ‘Oh No,’ and finished with the ballad ‘So Far Away’ (Russell informed the audience that it had been recorded by various guitarists including, Gary Moore, Jeff Beck and Hank Marvin, in addition to his own version). Chris Briscoe played some gorgeous soprano sax on this performance.

This was followed by a video of Leo Sayer singing the theme to the TV show Minder, which has Mo playing some funky slap bass lines. Next up were Jimmy Helms and Judy Tzuke, who sang the hit songs ‘Gonna Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse,’ and ‘Stay With Me Till Dawn’, respectively. Both singers have clearly kept their singing chops in great shape

Guitarist Phil Hilborne played two Gary Moore pieces; it was a terrific demonstration of guitar virtuosity. The first half of the concert ended with singer Deborah Bonham, whose album The Old Hyde had been produced by Mo. She recalled that the first song of the night, ‘What We Got Ain’t For Sale,’ had originally been written with a faster tempo, but that Mo had suggested playing it in half-time. ‘He was exactly right,’ noted Deborah. She ended with the title song ‘The Old Hyde’ written in part in memory of her brother, John Bonham, drummer of Led Zeppelin. She was joined on-stage by flautist Andy Findon. During the interval, audience members were given a small sealed paper bag, with instructions not to open it until the last song of the night…

The second half of the concert began with some footage from a film project that is still a work in progress. The film, One More Time, documents the London session scene, from the late 50s to the early 1980s, and includes interviews with many of the top session musicians of the time, including Mo. It is clearly a labour of love for film’s director Andrew D. Boyd, who introduced the clip.

The band for the second half of the concert included Ray Russell, Simon Phillips on drums, George Baldwin, bass and keyboardist Tony Hymas. The first tune of the set, ‘Wait In Line,’ featured Kim Goody on vocals, and two special guest percussionists, both in their eighties: Clem Cattini (who is the most recorded UK session drummer and was also on Mo’s first ever session in 1971) and Brian Bennett (who was drummer with The Shadows). It was clear that the two guest musicians had made a great effort to make it on the night and it was very moving to see them on-stage.

Fans of jazz-rock fusion were in for a treat as the band played ‘The Whole Of Tomorrow’ from Ray Russell’s 1977 album Ready or Not. Simon Phillips, half hidden behind a large, green TAMA drum kit, set up a monster groove; Russell played blazing guitar lines and Tony Hymas soloed elegantly. The second song was also from Ready or Not,’ ‘Slave,’ written by Russell and singer Denny McCaffery, who joined the band for this number. The third tune was a blues number, with bassist George Baldwin laying down a punchy bass riff. The band finished with the RMS tune, ‘Broadway Rundown,’ another wholesome slice of jazz-rock. A word for the horn section of Chris Bowden (sax), John Thirkell (trumpet) and Tim Whitehead (sax), who provided great support throughout the night.

The whole ensemble gathered on-stage for the penultimate song of the evening, a rousing version of ‘Sweet Surrender,’ featuring Moon Williams on vocals. When it came to the last song of the night, the audience discovered that their tiny bag contained a kazoo, and everyone was encouraged to join the band in a bonkers, joyous version of the ‘William Tell Overture.’ The venue filled with laughter, applause and cheering at its conclusion. As people filed out of the auditorium and into the night air, their faces were beaming with smiles. It’s what Mo would have wanted.

Mo Foster’s website: mofostermusic.com