Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Ford was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States,) and studied at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

. Ricky Ford

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schuller and then played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

from 1974 to 1976. After this he played with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...

(1976–77), Dannie Richmond (1978–81),

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

(1980–82), and then in the Mingus Dynasty (1982). He also played with Abdullah Ibrahim (1983–90) and

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

(1989–94), and has recorded with many other notable musicians including

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in America. Although Lateef's main instruments ...

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...

, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Amina Claudine Myers, Sathima Bea Benjamin,

Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to: Music * Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician Other occupations *Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...

, and others. Ford has recorded extensively as a leader for

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

and

Candid Candid may refer to: * Candid (app), a mobile app for anonymous discussions * Candid (organization), providing information on US nonprofit companies * Candid Records, a record label * Ilyushin Il-76, NATO reporting name ''Candid'', a Soviet aircraf ...

. He settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France, in the 1990s.Mathieu Perez
"Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz"
(interview), '' Jazz Hot'' #668, Summer 2014. He taught at

Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi University ( tr, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi), officially established in 1996, is a private university located in Istanbul, Turkey. The university has 4 campuses centrally-located in Istanbul namely SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Do ...

from 2001 to 2006. In 2009 he founded the Toucy Jazz FestivalToucy Jazz Festival
Toucyjazzfestival.com. in

Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...

, (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 Robert James Neloms (March 2, 1942, in Detroit – July 28, 2020, in Birmingham, Michigan) was an American jazz pianist. He also occasionally performed on trombone and Organ (music), organ. Career Neloms won a scholarship contest run by ''Downbea ...

, Richard Davis, Dannie Richmond ;Muse Records * 1978: '' Manhattan Plaza'' with Oliver Beener,

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

, David Friesen, Dannie Richmond * 1980: '' Flying Colors'' with

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

, Walter Booker,

Jimmy Cobb Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the band's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was a ...

* 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 ''Future's Gold'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1983 and released on the Muse label.Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

, Ray Drummond, Jimmy Cobb * 1984: '' Shorter Ideas'' with Jimmy Knepper, James Spaulding,

Kirk Lightsey Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born February 15, 1937, Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz pianist. Biography Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lights ...

, Rufus Reid, Jimmy Cobb * 1986: '' Looking Ahead'' * 1987: '' Saxotic Stomp'' with James Spaulding, Charles Davis, Kirk Lightsey, Ray Drummond, Jimmy Cobb * 1989: ''

Hard Groovin' ''Hard Groovin is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1989 and released on the Muse label.Roy Hargrove, Geoff Keezer, Robert Hurst, Jeff "Tain" Watts * 1992: '' Tenor Madness Too!'' with Antoine Roney, Donald Brown, Peter Washington,

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...

;Candid Records * 1989: ''

Manhattan Blues ''Manhattan Blues'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford. Recording and music ''Manhattan Blues'' was recorded on March 4, 1989, in New York City.

'' with

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

, Ben Riley * 1990: ''

Ebony Rhapsody ''Ebony Rhapsody'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford.Candid Records Cata ...

'' U.S. Jazz No. 13 * 1991: ''

Hot Brass ''Hot Brass'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford, recorded in 1991 and released on the Candid label. Reception The ''Toronto Star'' wrote that Ford "heads a septet that plays with the furious power of a big band, often employing three- and fo ...

'' with Lew Soloff,

Claudio Roditi Claudio Roditi (May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020) was a Brazilian jazz trumpeter. In 1966 Claudio was named a trumpet finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, Roditi met Art Farmer, one of his idols, ...

Steve Turre Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For years, Turre has b ...

, Danilo Pérez, Christian McBride, Carl Allen * 1991: ''

American-African Blues ''American-African Blues'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford. Recording and music ''American-African Blues'' was recorded in concert at Birdland (New York jazz club), Birdland, New York City, on September 16, 1991.Ford, Ricky ''American-Afri ...

'' with Jaki Byard, Milt Hinton, Ben Riley ;Other labels * 1994: '' Tenors of Yusef Lateef & Ricky Ford'' with

, Avery Sharpe, Kamal Sabir * 1999: ''Balaena'' with

George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Ar ...

Cecil McBee Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of jazz albums. Biography Early life and career McBee was born in ...

, Ed Thigpen * 2002: ''Songs for My Mother'' * 2003: ''Reeds and Keys'' with

* 2009: ''Very Saxy'' with Rhoda Scott * 2010: ''7095'' with Ricky Ford & Ze Big Band * 2013: ''Sacred Concert'' with Ricky Ford & Ze Big Band

As sideman

With Ran Blake *'' Short Life of Barbara Monk'' (Soul Note, 1986) With

*''

July in Paris ''July in Paris'' is an album by pianist Jaki Byard. Most of the tracks are trio, with bassist Ralph Hamperian, and drummer Richard Allen; on two they are joined by saxophonist Ricky Ford. Recording and music The album was recorded in concert ...

'' (Fariplay, 1998) With Abdullah Ibrahim *''

Water from an Ancient Well ''Water from an Ancient Well'' is a jazz album by South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim that was first released in 1986. The album was also included in the book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. Track listing ''All tracks written ...

'' (Tiptoe, 1986) With

*''

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meani ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) With Ronnie Mathews *''

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

'' (Bee Hive, 1979) With Dannie Richmond *''

Dannie Richmond Plays Charles Mingus ''Dannie Richmond Plays Charles Mingus'' is an album by drummer Dannie Richmond and the Last Mingus Band which was recorded in Italy in 1980 and released on the Dutch Timeless label.The Last Mingus Band A.D.'' (Landmark, 1980 994 *'' Dionysius'' (Red, 1983) With Red Rodney *''

The 3R's ''The 3R's'' is an album by trumpeter Red Rodney with saxophonists Richie Cole (musician), Richie Cole and Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1979 and released on the Muse Records, Muse label in 1982.982 With

*'' Crowd Scene'' (Soul Note, 1989) *'' Where Are You?'' (Soul Note, 1989) With Jack Walrath *'' Revenge of the Fat People'' (Stash, 1981)

References

External links

* Mathieu Perez
"Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz"
(interview), '' Jazz Hot'' #668, Summer 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Ricky 1954 births Hard bop saxophonists Living people American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Muse Records artists Candid Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Mingus Dynasty (band) members The 360 Degree Music Experience members