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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Ford was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States,) and studied at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. Ricky Ford

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

In 1974, he recorded with

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

and then played in the

Duke Ellington Orchestra Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

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 Elli ...

from 1974 to 1976. After this he played with

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

(1976–1977),

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 Dan ...

(1978–1981),

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

(1980–1982), 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 a ...

(1982). He also played with

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

(1983–1990) 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 ...

(1989–1994), 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 the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) 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 era, recording over ...

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

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 Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger. Biography Born in Blackwell, Arkansas, "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a c ...

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

Steve Lacy Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of the alternative R&B band the Internet, which he joined in 2015. His self-produced debut EP, '' ...

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

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

and Candid. He settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 () is a private university founded in 1996, located in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, Turkey. The university has four campuses in Istanbul: SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Dolapdere, and Kozyatağı. History The university was ...

from 2001 to 2006. In 2009 he founded the

Toucy Toucy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. Personalities John Law (economist), John Law purchased the estate o ...

Jazz Festival Toucy Jazz Festival
Toucyjazzfestival.com. in

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') 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 con ...

, (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 music for pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is t ...

(2011).

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''

Loxodonta Africana The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three extant elephant species and, along with the African forest elephant, one ...

'' (

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. 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. Under its Section 8 federal ...

'' (

, 1978) * '' Flying Colors'' (Muse, 1980) * '' Tenor for the Times'' (Muse, 1981) * '' Interpretations'' (Muse, 1982) * '' Future's Gold'' (Muse, 1983) * '' Shorter Ideas'' (Muse, 1984) * '' Looking Ahead'' (Muse, 1986) * '' Saxotic Stomp'' (Muse, 1987) * '' Hard Groovin''' (Muse, 1989) * '' Manhattan Blues'' ( Candid, 1989) * '' Ebony Rhapsody'' ( Candid, 1990) – live * '' Hot Brass'' ( Candid, 1992) – rec. 1991 * '' American-African Blues'' ( Candid, 1992) – live rec. 1991 * '' Tenor Madness Too!'' (Muse, 1992) * '' 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 Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born 15 February 1937), is an American jazz pianist. Biography Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After serving in the army, Lightsey worked in Detr ...

(Jazz Friends Productions, 2003) * ''Green Note - Live at La Fenêtre'' (Marge, 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'' ( Timeless, 1981) * ''

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; ) 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 of the Greek god, Dionysus, parallel ...

'' (Red, 1983) * '' The Last Mingus Band A.D.'' (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 follow ...

'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1989) * '' Where Are You?'' (Soul Note, 1989) With others *

Ran Blake Ran Blake (born April 20, 1935) is an American pianist, composer, and educator. He is known for his unique style that combines blues, gospel, classical, and film noir influences into an innovative and dark jazz sound. His career spans over 40 rec ...

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

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 h ...

, '' July in Paris'' (Fariplay, 1998) * Richard Davis, ''Total Package'' (Marge, 1998) *

, '' Water from an Ancient Well'' (Tiptoe, 1986) *

, ''

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

'' (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. Hi ...

, ''

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

'' (Bee Hive, 1979) *

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

, '' The 3R's'' (Muse, 1982) – rec. 1979 * Rhoda Scott, ''Very Saxy - Live Au Meridien'' (Ahead, 2009) CD– live *

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

, '' Revenge of the Fat People'' ( 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