Ricky Ford
Encyclopedia
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
tenor saxophonist.
Ford was born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and studied at the New England Conservatory. In 1974 he recorded with Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
and then played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington
Mercer Ellington
Mercer Kennedy Ellington was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington...
from 1974 to 1976. After this he played with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
(1976-77), Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond was an American drummer who was best known among jazz fans for his work with Charles Mingus, and among pop fans for his work with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond....
(1978-1981), Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, and then in the Mingus Dynasty
Mingus Dynasty
Mingus Dynasty is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released in 1959, and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.- Track listing :All compositions by Charles Mingus except where noted.# "Slop"# "Diane"# "Song With Orange"...
(1982). In 1985 he played with Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim , born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, and formerly known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer...
. He has recorded extensively as a leader for Muse
Muse Records
Muse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
and Candid
Candid Records
Candid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...
.
He had taught at Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
from 2001 to 2006.
He founded in 2009 the Toucy
Toucy
Toucy is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Personalities:It was the hometown of Pierre Larousse, creator of one of the most highly regarded French dictionaries, Le Petit Larousse.-Geography:...
Jazz Festival in Yonne
Yonne
Yonne is a French department named after the Yonne River. It is one of the four constituent departments of Burgundy in eastern France and its prefecture is Auxerre. Its official number is 89....
(France), and invited musician like Rhoda Scott
Rhoda Scott
Rhoda Scott is an African-American hard bop and soul jazz organist.The daughter of an AME minister, Scott spent much of her childhood in New Jersey, where she learned to play organ in the churches where her father served. Soon she herself was serving frequently as organist for youth and gospel...
(2009) and Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane is an American post-bop jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced artists such as pianist Luis Perdomo , guitarist David Gilmore and trumpeter Ralph Alessi....
(2011).
As leader
New World Records- 1977: Loxodonta Africana with Oliver Beener, Charles SullivanCharles Sullivan (musician)Charles Sullivan is an American jazz trumpeter. He has made recordings as sideman with Woody Shaw, Dollar Brand, Ricky Ford, and King Curtis, among others...
, Bob Neloms, Richard Davis, Dannie RichmondDannie RichmondDannie Richmond was an American drummer who was best known among jazz fans for his work with Charles Mingus, and among pop fans for his work with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond....
Muse Records
- 1978: Manhattan Plaza with Oliver Beener, Jaki ByardJaki ByardJaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
, David FriesenDavid FriesenDavid Friesen is an American jazz bassist born in Tacoma, Washington. Friesen plays the double bass as well as the Oregon bass, which is an electrified acoustic bass....
, Dannie Richond - 1980: Flying Colors with John HicksJohn Hicks (jazz pianist)John Josephus Hicks, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and composer, active in the New York and the international jazz scene from the mid-1960s.-Biography:...
, Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
, Jimmy CobbJimmy Cobb-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *... - 1981: Tenor of the Times with Albert DaileyAlbert DaileyAlbert Dailey was an American jazz pianist.Dailey's first professional appearances were with the house band of the Baltimore Royal Theater in the early 1950s. Later in the decade he studied at Morgan State University and the Peabody Conservatory...
, Rufus ReidRufus ReidRufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...
, Jimmy Cobb - 1982: Interpretations with John Hicks, Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
, Jimmy Cobb - 1983: Future's Gold with Albert Dailey, Larry CoryellLarry CoryellLarry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
, Ray DrummondRay DrummondRay Drummond is a jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop...
, Jimmy Cobb - 1984: Shorter Ideas with Jimmy KnepperJimmy KnepperJames M. Knepper was an American jazz trombonist.He was a good friend and arranging/transcribing partner of bassist and composer Charles Mingus. Knepper was twice on the receiving end of Mingus' legendary temper...
, James Spaulding, Kirk LightseyKirk LightseyKirkland "Kirk" Lightsey is an American jazz pianist.Lightsey had piano instruction from age five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lightsey worked in Detroit and California in the 1960s as an accompanist to singers...
, 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 HargroveRoy HargroveRoy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
, Geoff KeezerGeoff KeezerGeoffrey Keezer, born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA on November 20, 1970, is a jazz pianist. Born into a musical family, with both parents teaching music, he began studying piano at the age of three. In 1989, at the age of 18, after completing his first year at the Berklee College of Music,...
, Robert HurstRobert Hurst (musician)Robert Hurst is an American jazz bassist.Hurst played guitar early in his career before concentrating on bass. He worked with Out of the Blue in 1985 and also did work with musicians such as Tony Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harry Connick Jr., Geri Allen, Russell Malone, and Steve Coleman...
, Jeff "Tain" Watts - 1992: Tenor Madness Too with Antoine RoneyAntoine RoneyAntoine Roney is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, brother to trumpeter Wallace Roney.Born in Philadelphia, he graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts of the D. C...
, Donald BrownDonald Brown (musician)Donald Ray Brown is an American jazz pianist.Brown was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play trumpet and drums in his youth. From 1972 to 1975 he was a student at Memphis State University, by which time he had made piano his primary instrument...
, Peter WashingtonPeter WashingtonPeter Washington is a jazz double bassist. He initially played classical bass and played with the Westchester Community Symphony at 14. Later he worked with electric bass and in rock bands. He went on to study English at the University of California, Berkeley...
, Louis HayesLouis HayesLouis Hayes is an American jazz drummer.-Biography:His father played drums and piano and his mother the piano and he refers to the early influence of hearing jazz, especially that of big bands, on the radio...
Candid Records
- 1989: Manhattan Blues with Jaki ByardJaki ByardJaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
, Milt HintonMilt HintonMilton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
, Ben RileyBen RileyBen Riley is an American hard bop drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Kenny Barron, and as member of the group Sphere... - 1990: Ebony Rhapsody U.S. Jazz #13
- 1991: Hot Brass with Lew SoloffLew SoloffLew Soloff is a jazz trumpeter, composer and actor. He studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School. He is likely best known for his work with Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1968 to 1973...
, Claudio RoditiClaudio RoditiClaudio Roditi is a Brazilian jazz trumpeter.After arriving in the United States in 1970, he began to study at Berklee School of Music, where he became musically influenced by Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan...
, Steve TurreSteve TurreSteve Turre is a trombonist, recording artist, arranger, and educator. In 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2006 he won the Down Beat Reader's Poll for best trombonist....
, Danilo PérezDanilo PérezDanilo Pérez is a Panamanian pianist and composer.-Early life:Danilo Pérez was born in Panama in 1965. He is considered one of the finest contemporary pianists and jazz composers of our era....
, Christian McBrideChristian McBrideChristian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
, Carl AllenCarl Allen (drummer)Carl Allen is an American jazz drummer.He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman and Phil Woods. and the Benny Green Trio.... - 1991: American African Blues with Jaki Byard, Milt Hinton, Ben Riley
Other labels
- 1994: Tenors of Yusef Lateef & Ricky Ford with Yusef LateefYusef LateefDr. Yusef Lateef is an American Grammy Award-winning jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator and a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after his conversion to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam in 1950.Although Lateef's main instruments are the tenor saxophone and flute, he is known for...
, Avery SharpeAvery SharpeAvery Sharpe is an American jazz double-bassist.Sharpe began playing piano at age eight and also studied accordion in his youth. He learned both electric and acoustic bass as a teenager, then studied with Reggie Workman at the University of Massachusetts...
, Kamal Sabir - 1999: Balaena with George CablesGeorge CablesGeorge Andrew Cables is a jazz pianist, born November 14, 1944 in New York City.He has played with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, and others.His own recordings include the 1980 Cables Vision with Freddie Hubbard among others....
, Cecil McBeeCecil McBeeCecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...
, Ed ThigpenEd ThigpenEdmund Leonard "Ed" Thigpen was an American jazz drummer, best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965... - 2002: Song for My Mother
- 2003: Reeds and Keys with Kirk LightseyKirk LightseyKirkland "Kirk" Lightsey is an American jazz pianist.Lightsey had piano instruction from age five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lightsey worked in Detroit and California in the 1960s as an accompanist to singers...
As sideman
With Ran BlakeRan Blake
Ran Blake is an American pianist and composer from Springfield, Massachusetts. In a career that spans five decades, Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator...
- Short Life of Barbara MonkShort Life of Barbara MonkShort Life of Barabara Monk is an album by the American jazz pianist Ran Blake featuring saxophonist Ricky Ford recorded in 1986 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(Soul Note, 1986)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- Crowd SceneCrowd SceneCrowd Scene is an album by jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1989 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "there are some rambling moments on these lengthy performances, both of which clock in at over 25 minutes...
(Soul Note, 1989) - Where Are You?Where Are You? (Mal Waldron album)Where Are You? is an album by jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1989 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 3 stars stating "Mal Waldron's mellow and sentimental side is tapped on this session.....
(Soul Note, 1989)
With Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
- VespersVespers (album)Vespers is an album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in 1993 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "lots of interesting tone colors and harmonies and consistently stimulating solos.....
(Soul Note, 1993)