The Son of Hannah was the opening track for Alex Henry Foster’s first concert under his own name, at the Festival de Jazz de Montréal, on July 5, 2019. This concert also marked his comeback on the stage after a 3-year absence from the spotlight and the public eye all together. The concert, supposed to be a one-off event, was also an homage to Foster’s late father. The Son of Hannah was crafted in the midst of the rehearsals for that moment that marked a new beginning for Foster. 

“The song is based on an Old Testament woman named Hannah who was weeping and supplicating God to be able to conceive a child, which in her cultural context reflected a profound desire to find her purpose, to contribute to her community. Her devotion was so consumed that a prophet named Eli thought she was drunk, which would have been a great offense. She explained why she was so desperately weeping. She basically felt like a failure. She promised to consecrate her child to the Temple would her desire be granted. It was, and she kept her promise, not knowing that her son would be one of the most important kings to rule over the country years later, while the prophet’s sons were ungrateful disgraces… And as completely far-fetched as it might sound, I felt like that story perfectly represented the image I had of my father. What struck me in that story is as much the characters involved, as the social context and different outcomes.” – Alex