Ricky Ford
Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Ford was born in Boston and studied at the New England Conservatory.[1] In 1974 he recorded with Gunther Schuller and then played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington from 1974 to 1976. After this he played with Charles Mingus (1976–77), Dannie Richmond (1978–81), Lionel Hampton (1980–82), and then in the Mingus Dynasty (1982). He also played with Abdullah Ibrahim (1983–90) and Mal Waldron (1989–94), and has recorded with many other notable musicians including Yusef Lateef, Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Amina Claudine Myers, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Steve Lacy, and others.[2]
Ford has recorded extensively as a leader for Muse and Candid.
He settled in Paris, France, in the 1990s.[2] He taught at Istanbul Bilgi University from 2001 to 2006.
In 2009 he founded the Toucy Jazz Festival[3] in Yonne, (France), and invited musicians including Rhoda Scott (2009) and Ravi Coltrane (2011).
Discography
As leader
- New World Records
- 1977: Loxodonta Africana with Oliver Beener, Charles Sullivan, Bob Neloms, Richard Davis, Dannie Richmond
- Muse Records
- 1978: Manhattan Plaza with Oliver Beener, Jaki Byard, David Friesen, Dannie Richmond
- 1980: Flying Colors with John Hicks, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb
- 1981: Tenor for the Times with Albert Dailey, Rufus Reid, Jimmy Cobb
- 1982: Interpretations with John Hicks, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb, Robert Watson, Wallace Roney
- 1983: Future's Gold with Albert Dailey, Larry Coryell, Ray Drummond, Jimmy Cobb
- 1984: Shorter Ideas with Jimmy Knepper, James Spaulding, Kirk Lightsey, Rufus Reid, Jimmy Cobb
- 1986: Looking Ahead
- 1987: Saxotic Stomp with James Spaulding, Charles Davis, Kirk Lightsey, Ray Drummond, Jimmy Cobb
- 1989: Hard Groovin' with Roy Hargrove, Geoff Keezer, Robert Hurst, Jeff "Tain" Watts
- 1992: Tenor Madness Too! with Antoine Roney, Donald Brown, Peter Washington, Louis Hayes
- Candid Records
- 1989: Manhattan Blues with Jaki Byard, Milt Hinton, Ben Riley
- 1990: Ebony Rhapsody U.S. Jazz No. 13[4]
- 1991: Hot Brass with Lew Soloff, Claudio Roditi, Steve Turre, Danilo Pérez, Christian McBride, Carl Allen
- 1991: American-African Blues with Jaki Byard, Milt Hinton, Ben Riley
- Other labels
- 1994: Tenors of Yusef Lateef & Ricky Ford with Yusef Lateef, Avery Sharpe, Kamal Sabir
- 1999: Balaena with George Cables, Cecil McBee, Ed Thigpen
- 2002: Songs for My Mother
- 2003: Reeds and Keys with Kirk Lightsey
- 2009: Very Saxy with Rhoda Scott
- 2010: 7095 with Ricky Ford & Ze Big Band[5]
- 2013: Sacred Concert with Ricky Ford & Ze Big Band[5]
As sideman
With Ran Blake
- Short Life of Barbara Monk (Soul Note, 1986)
With Jaki Byard
- July in Paris (Fariplay, 1998)
With Abdullah Ibrahim
- Water from an Ancient Well (Tiptoe, 1986)
With Steve Lacy
- Vespers (Soul Note, 1993)
With Ronnie Mathews
- Legacy (Bee Hive, 1979)
With Dannie Richmond
- Dannie Richmond Plays Charles Mingus (Timeless, 1981)
With Red Rodney
- The 3R's (Muse, 1979 [1982])
With Mal Waldron
- Crowd Scene (Soul Note, 1989)
- Where Are You? (Soul Note, 1989)
With Jack Walrath
- Revenge of the Fat People (Stash, 1981)
References
- ^ Ricky Ford, Allmusic
- ^ a b Mathieu Perez, "Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz" (interview), Jazz Hot #668, Summer 2014.
- ^ Toucy Jazz Festival, toucyjazzfestival.com.
- ^ Billboard, Allmusic.com
- ^ a b Ze Big Band, http://www.zebigband.com/
External links
- Mathieu Perez, "Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz" (interview), Jazz Hot #668, Summer 2014.
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