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 major ...

tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Ford was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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 Hu ...

. 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 databas ...

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 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 and ...

(1976–77),

Dannie Richmond Charles Daniel Richmond (December 15, 1931 – March 16, 1988) was an American jazz drummer who is best known for his work with Charles Mingus. He also worked with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond. Biography Richmond was born Charles ...

(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, Charles M ...

(1980–82), and then in the

Mingus Dynasty ''Mingus Dynasty'' is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on Columbia Records in May 1960. It is a companion album to his 1959 record, ''Mingus Ah Um'', and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The title ...

(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 his ...

, McCoy Tyner,

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

, Amina Claudine Myers,

Sathima Bea Benjamin Beatrice "Sathima Bea" Benjamin (17 October 1936 – 20 August 2013) was a South African vocalist and composer, based for nearly 45 years in New York City. Early life She was born Beatrice Bertha BenjaminChinen, Nate ''The New York Times'', 29 ...

, Steve Lacy, 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. S ...

, France, in the 1990s.Mathieu Perez
"Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz"
(interview), ''

Jazz Hot ''Jazz Hot'' is a French quarterly jazz magazine published in Marseille. It was founded in March 1935 in Paris. Early years ''Jazz Hot'' is acclaimed for having innovated scholarly jazz criticism before and after World War II — jazz criti ...

'' #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 Toucy () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. Personalities Toucy was the birthplace and hometown of Pierre Larousse, lexicographer and founder of the publi ...

Jazz FestivalToucy Jazz Festival
Toucyjazzfestival.com. in Yonne, (France), and invited musicians including Rhoda Scott (2009) and

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...

(2011).

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''

Loxodonta Africana The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

'' (New World. 1977) * ''

Manhattan Plaza Manhattan Plaza is a large federally subsidized residential complex of 46 floors and at 400 and 484 West 43rd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1977, it has 1,689 units and about 3,500 tenants. 70% of the tenants are from ...

'' (

, 1978) * '' Flying Colors'' (Muse, 1980) * ''

Tenor for the Times ''Tenor for the Times'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1981 and released on the Muse label.Interpretations'' (Muse, 1982) * ''

Future's Gold ''Future's Gold'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1983 and released on the Muse label.Shorter Ideas ''Shorter Ideas'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford featuring four compositions by Wayne Shorter which was recorded in 1984 and released on the Muse label.Looking Ahead'' (Muse, 1986) * '' Saxotic Stomp'' (Muse, 1987) * ''

Hard Groovin' ''Hard Groovin is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1989 and released on the Muse label.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.

'' (

, 1989) * ''

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

'' (

, 1990) – live * ''

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 ...

'' (

, 1992) – rec. 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 ...

'' (

, 1992) – live rec. 1991 * ''

Tenor Madness Too! ''Tenor Madness Too!'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1992 and released on the Muse label.Tenors of Yusef Lateef & Ricky Ford'' with

(YAL/Bomba, 1996) – rec. 1994 * ''Balaena'' (Jazz Friends Productions, 1999) * ''Songs for My Mother'' (Jazz Friends Productions, 2002) * ''Reeds and Keys'' with Kirk Lightsey (Jazz Friends Productions, 2003) * ''7095'' with Ze Big Band (Solidor Productions, 2010) * ''Sacred Concert'' with Ze Big Band (Ze Big Band Association, 2013)

As sideman

With

* ''

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.Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

'' (Red, 1983) * ''

The Last Mingus Band A.D. ''The Last Mingus Band A.D.'' is an album by drummer Dannie Richmond recorded in 1980 and originally released on the Gatemouth label as ''Dannie Richmond Quintet'' before being reissued on Landmark Records in 1994 with an additional track.

'' (Landmark, 1994) – rec. 1980 With

* ''

Crowd Scene A crowd scene is the representation of a crowd in art, literature or other media. There are many examples of crowd scenes in American literature. One classic is Poe's short story, "The Man of the Crowd", in which a mysterious old man is followed ...

'' (Soul Note, 1989) * '' Where Are You?'' (Soul Note, 1989) With others * Ran Blake, '' Short Life of Barbara Monk'' (Soul Note, 1986) * Jaki Byard, '' July in Paris'' (Fariplay, 1998) * Richard Davis, ''Total Package'' (Marge, 1998) * 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) * Steve Lacy, ''

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) *

Ronnie Mathews Ronald Mathews (December 2, 1935 in New York City – June 28, 2008 in Brooklyn) was an American jazz pianist who worked with Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978–79. His ...

, ''

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) * 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.Rhoda Scott, ''Very Saxy - Live Au Meridien'' (Ahead, 2009) CD– live * Jack Walrath, ''

Revenge of the Fat People ''Revenge of the Fat People'' is an album by trumpeter Jack Walrath, recorded in 1981 and released on the Stash label in 1982. Reception ''The Globe and Mail'' wrote that Walrath's "music continues the filips that characterized the Mingus bands, ...

'' (Stash, 1981)

References

External links

* Mathieu Perez
"Ricky Ford: Five or Six Shades of Jazz"
(interview), ''

'' #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