Jazz Articles about Robben Ford

Robben Ford: Robben Ford- Anthology: The Early Years

by C. Michael Bailey
May 1, 2001

Robben Ford knew all there was to know about the blues pentonic scale before he was 20 years old.

Anthology: The Early Years catalogs a pre-Yellowjackets, pre-Miles Davis, teenaged Robben Ford. This is significant because, Ford, at this time (between 1972 and 1976), shows more aptitude for the Blues than players do twice his age. This current compilation is based on four releases Ford made for Avenue Jazz (now codistributed with the Bethlehem archive). Thirteen of the nineteen tracks are ...

Robben Ford: Sunrise

by Robert Spencer
August 1, 1999

Sunrise is aptly named, for this 1972 recording captures Robben Ford's stinging blues guitar at the dawn of his career. It contains the hallmarks of Ford's now long-familiar style: non-stop solos of brisk funk logic; clean and exquisitely formed lines; and a monster groove. There's also quite a bit of vocal work on this one: by Ford himself on Willie Dixon's “Red Rooster," Miles Davis' “Eighty One," and Ford's own “Sunrise." The one and only Jimmy Witherspoon shows up too ...

Robben Ford: The Authorized Bootleg

by Robert Spencer
April 1, 1998

Here's Robben Ford on acoustic guitar at Oakland's fabled Yoshi's in December 1995. The Blue Line is with him: Roscoe Beck on bass, Tom Brechtlein on drums, and Bill Boublitz on piano and organ. The place is packed and the crowd is wildly enthusiastic.

As well it should be. Acoustic Ford reveals him as supreme blues stylist, with a good sense of form in his solos that seldom fails to hold interest. His singing is well-suited to the milieu here; ...

Robben Ford: Tiger Walk

by Robert Spencer
January 1, 1998

Listening to this new Robben Ford disc reminds me how much this man's guitar contributed to the sound of the much-maligned late period of Miles Davis. At its core Tiger Walk is a quartet recording centering around Ford, Bernie Worrell on clavinet and organ, Charlie Drayton on bass guitars, and Steve Jordon on drums and percussion. Benmont Tench of Heartbreakers fame plays organ on “The Champ," with Russell Ferrante on piano and Lenny Castro on percussion. Castro chips in on ...