Ricky Ford Quartet John Coltrane 100th Birthday Celebration

Hallwalls is excited to celebrate the 100th Birthday of one of the most influential saxophonist/composers of the 20th century, John Coltrane, with a special tribute concert featuring legendary American saxophonist Ricky Ford. As a bandleader, sought-after sideman, prolific composer, teacher, and an accomplished painter, the master musician is part of a direct lineage of great American tenor saxophonists and has been exploring many different aspects of art throughout his astounding career.

Born on March 4th, 1954, he was already training at the New England Conservatory of Music in 1968. He studied under Gunther Schuller, Ran Blake, Jaki Byard, George Russell, Joe Allard and Joseph Maneri before Mercer Ellington invited him to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra, just a few months after the passing of Duke Ellington and Paul Gonsalves. Then he went on to work with Charles Mingus (1976-1977), Dannie Richmond (1978-1981), Lionel Hampton (1980-1982), Abdullah Ibrahim (1983-1990), Mal Waldron (1989-1994), not forgetting the many recording sessions with Yusef Lateef, Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Amina Claudine Myers, Sathima Bea Benjamin, and Steve Lacy, to just name a few. As a comprehensive musician, Ford has always strived to master different musical genres, from swing to hard bop to free, and recently focusing on the work of Turkish poet and musician Neyzen Tevfik.

As a leader, Ricky Ford has recorded 21 albums and authored a vast repertoire of originals. The musician has proved to have sharp knowledge and is continually looking for new forms of expression. Ford is also a unique arranger and conductor. From 1985 to 1996 he led Brandeis University’s big band, arranging the works of composers whose music had never been played by big bands. When he settled in Paris in the 1990s, he created another big band before moving to Turkey to teach at the Istanbul Bilgi University (2000-2006). Ricky Ford has been working with Ze Big Band, conducted by Fred Burgazzi, with who he has recorded two beautiful albums, 7095 (2009) and Sacred Concert (2013). Ford and Ze Big Band created Sketches of Brittany at the Jazz Festival of Vitré, in Brittany. In 2022 Ford, now 68, burst out with a strong new album, The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford: Paul’s Scene (Whaling City Sound), his first recording in almost a decade. For those who need to be reminded of Ford’s playing strength and musical imagination, a listen to this music will jog the memory. Ford never ceases to create music of the highest caliber.