Rončel in Šiška: Robben Ford

ROBBEN FORD is one of the premiere electric guitarists today. His excellent mastering of guitar stands out when playing blues, yet his flexible and inventive style makes him comfortable in a variety of musical contexts. A four-time Grammy nominee, he has played with artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Miles Davis, George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Claus Ogerman, Michael McDonald, and many, many others.

Robben was the third of four sons in a musical family. At the age of ten began playing the saxophone continued to play it until his early twenties. He began to teach himself guitar at age thirteen upon hearing the two guitarists from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. In the late 1960’s, Ford frequented the Fillmore and Winterland Auditoriums in San Francisco to see Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Albert King, B.B. King and all of the progenitors of blues. “It was an incredible time for electric guitar,” Ford recalls.
On his interest in jazz, Ford says,” I fell in love with the sax playing of Paul Desmond and The Dave Brubeck Quartet, and before long found Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Roland Kirk, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and of course, Miles Davis.” These influences have stayed with Ford, playing a large part in his particular blend of jazz and blues that define him as a guitarist and allow him to play in a wide variety of settings.
After high school, Robben and his brothers Patrick (a blues drummer) and Mark (a blues harmonica player) formed The Charles Ford Blues Band (named after their father), in which Robben played sax and guitar. They recorded for the Arhoolie label. Robben and Patrick later went on to tour the U.S. with Chicago harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, again recording for Arhoolie.

Robben formed his first own jazz quartet with the legendary blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon. He toured the U.S. and Europe with Witherspoon and was seen by Tom Scott, and members of The L.A. Express, who were about to begin a promotional tour with Joni Mitchell for her recording “Court and Spark”. Ford was invited to play guitar on the tour and played on two recordings with Mitchell and The L.A. Express. “The two years I spent with Joni were the most formative of my musical life. Joni was just brilliant and very accessible then, and the members of The L.A. Express became good friends and teachers to me. It was great.”
Beatle George Harrison invited Robben to join him on his “Dark Horse” tour of the U.S. and Canada, raising Ford’s musical profile even further. In 1977, he was approached by Elektra records to record for them, which produced his first solo recording “The Inside Story” with a group of musicians who went on to become The Yellowjackets. Elektra closed their doors in the early 1980’s. Robben moved to San Francisco where he soon began recording and touring with Michael McDonald, which secured him a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records. He also met his soon-to-be wife, actress Anne Kerry. After moving to New York with Anne, he was called to play with musical icon Miles Davis. “Producer Tommy Lipuma played Miles my work with the Yellowjackets, then three days later, Miles called me personally to join his band. Shocking!” Ford lamented having to leave Miles after only six months because of recording commitments with Warner Brothers, but was told by Miles that if he ever wanted to come back, “just come back.”
Robben’s 1988 release for Warner Brothers, “Talk to Your Daughter” brought his first Grammy nomination (Best Contemporary Blues Recording). Still based in New York, he backed David Sandborn on the television music show “Nite Music”, in which Sandborn hosted a variety of musical acts. Ford also toured with Sandborn in 1990. Robben then signed with Stretch/GRP records, where he finally found a real home for his creativity, recording three CDs for them with his band “The Blue Line” (Tom Brechtlein on drums and Roscoe Beck on bass). After a very fruitful eight years, Robben disbanded the group and recorded two more CDs for the label which had then become Stretch/Blue Thumb: “Tiger Walk” (an instrumental recording done in New York with Keith Richard’s rhythm section) and “Supernatural”, Ford’s most accomplished work up to that point as a songwriter.

Robben released three albums for Concord Records, the largest independently owned record company. In 2002, he released “Blue Moon”, and in 2003 “Keep on Runnin’”, a recording full of the 60’s blues/R&B feeling with which he grew up. Ford’s third release for Concord is entitled “Truth”. “I feel this is the best work I have done in terms of a solo recording. It is my most realized work as a songwriter, and I feel like I am reaching higher ground as a guitarist. “Truth” represents the blues as they are today; some of the songs are sociopolitical in essence, but not without humour, and the musical setting is fresh.”
His forth album released for Concord in August this year and titled Soul on Ten' (The Independent, SF), is his first live recording after more than a decade. Ford manages to subdue any doubts of his exceptional skills, giving his fingers a proper exercise on his six-string instrument. The band also comprises Neal Evans on B-3 organ and Travis Carlton (son of Larry Carlton) on bass. They ensure an abundant and powerful mix of soul, blues, and in rock, dictated by Robben as an autonomous
‘’bluesman’’ featuring clear and resounding vocals thus creating an exciting natural energy that enables inspiration.
Current CD: 'Soul on Ten' (Concord, August 2009)