Foreman, Al - Deep in the ❤️ of Vancouver

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Deep in the Heart of Vancouver	03:45
	2	Let Me Explain	04:17

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	I Love to Sing The Blues	03:20
	2	What If I Told You	02:47

Photos

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Information/Write-up

Al Foreman: Rhythm, Blues, and Reflection

Al Foreman has been a cornerstone of Vancouver’s music scene for over five decades—a keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator whose musical journey has spanned blues, soul, R&B, and rock, and whose passion for performance and healing has never wavered.

Born and raised in East Vancouver, Foreman began his musical training in 1954 and was soon performing in school assemblies at Templeton and later Britannia High School, where he co-founded the Rhythm and Blues Record Club in 1960. His early immersion in R&B set the tone for a career steeped in soul. By 1961, while studying at the University of British Columbia, he joined Little Daddy and the Bachelors, a pioneering Vancouver blues band that also featured a young Tommy Chong on guitar. He continued performing throughout his university years with Donny Gerrard and the Checkmates, honing his craft on weekends.

Foreman’s professional career took off in 1968 when he joined the musicians' union and began touring with the nine-piece Night Train Revue, a powerhouse R&B outfit that spent two and a half years on the road across the U.S. and Eastern Canada. It was here that Foreman developed his command of the Hammond B-3 organ, expanded his skills on harmonica, and began writing and arranging his own material.

In 1972, Foreman co-founded Scrubbaloe Caine, a country-rock group that signed to RCA Records and released the album Round One. His songs “Feelin’ Good on Sunday” and “Travelin’” received national airplay, and his blend of keyboard grooves and harmonica textures became a signature sound for the group.

After Scrubbaloe Caine disbanded, Foreman teamed up with bandmate Bill McBeth to form the Foreman Young Band, achieving a national hit in 1977 with “I Wonder What You’re Doin’ Tonight.” The song earned them a SOCAN Certificate of Honour and was a highlight of their set when they opened for The Beach Boys at the Vancouver Coliseum in 1978.

That same year, Foreman joined forces with acclaimed bluesman Jim Byrnes to form the Foreman-Byrnes Blues Band. Their collaboration began through Summertime Blues: An Appreciation, a blues history concert Foreman wrote, produced, and directed to critical acclaim.

In the 1980s, Foreman deepened his musical knowledge by enrolling at Capilano College’s commercial music program, studying voice, theory, and arranging. This led to the 1983 release of his own single, “Everybody Wants More Money,” on his Munchkin Records label. In 1986, he issued Deep in the Heart of Vancouver, a spirited tribute to his home city written for Expo ’86.

Over the next two decades, Foreman remained a vibrant performer, fronting the Al Foreman Band, playing successful European gigs in Munich, Amsterdam, and Zurich, and leading a six-year residency at Vancouver’s Jake O’Grady’s Restaurant. After a brief hiatus from performance, he returned to Capilano College to earn a Bachelor of Music Therapy. From 2000 to 2015, he worked as a music therapist, blending his musical gifts with compassionate care in hospitals and community settings.

Recently, Foreman has returned to the stage with two original concert projects: Reflections in Blue, a musical memoir tracing his life through blues, and New Orleans Gumbo, a tribute to the Louisiana rhythm and blues artists who inspired him. Both have played to sold-out audiences, confirming that his connection to music—and to the people it touches—is as strong as ever.

As he proudly proclaims at the end of Reflections in Blue, borrowing a line from Chuck Willis:
“I don’t want to hang up my rock and roll shoes…”
-Robert Williston

Al Foreman: keyboards, piano, DX7 synthesizer, harp, background vocals (track A1)
David Johnson: drums (track A1)
Jerry Adolphe: drums (tracks A2 to B2)
Lee Oliphant: bass (all tracks)
Danny Cassivant: guitar (track A1)
Steve Cross: guitar (tracks A2 to B2), background vocals (tracks B1, B2)
Kim Nishikawara: tenor saxophone (tracks A2 to B2), background vocals (track B2)
Dave Woodward: tenor saxophone (track A1)
Gordon Bertram: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone (track A1)
Larry Volen: tenor saxophone solo (track A1)
Jim McGillveray: percussion (track B2)
Lori Paul: background vocals (track A1)
Cecile Larochelle: background vocals (track A1)
Leslie Harris: background vocals (track A1)
Anita LeBlanc: background vocals (track A1)
Jim Pruden: background vocals (track A1)
Ria Falkner: background vocals (track B2)
Jan Ralley: lead vocals (track B2)

Recorded at G&G Studios (basic tracks for A1)
Additional recording at Bullfrog Recording Studio (track A1)
Recorded at Ocean Sound Studios (tracks A2 to B2)

Engineered by Al Rempel (track A1)
Engineered by Lorne Wallace (tracks A2 to B2)
Mixed by Darcy Kuruz (tracks A2 to B2)

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