JSngry Posted October 21, 2004 Report Posted October 21, 2004 Rick Ford plays so much so hard and so unrelentingly these that I wonder if he's doing all right. Needless to say, Ricky Ford rivets me with his current playing, but I'm not sure that it's for entirely healthy reasons. I've recently accquired a copy of Richard Davis' TOTAL PACKAGE, and Ricky Ford sounds like he's one step ahead of the devil, barely. Something's going on with Ricky ford, I do believe. I hope that all is well with Ricky Ford! Quote
bertrand Posted October 21, 2004 Report Posted October 21, 2004 I don't know if what you are describing is more pronounced in recent years, but Ricky's mother died in the same 1996 TWA crash that took the life of Wayne Shorter's wife and niece, so there is no doubt that he has been dealing with a lot of emotional issues in the last few years. Perhaps this is connected? Bertrand. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted October 21, 2004 Report Posted October 21, 2004 Please amplify. I have not paid attention for about 20 years. Ralph Moore distracted me for a while so I didn't notice Ricky's absence, then ............ I do have to say Ricky played the "Ralph role" when Schnitter evaporated. Quote
JSngry Posted October 21, 2004 Author Report Posted October 21, 2004 I hear you, Chuck, but Ricky's vibe is a lot different now. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted October 21, 2004 Report Posted October 21, 2004 Talk to me Jim. Is this a Diane Arbus thing? Quote
Late Posted October 21, 2004 Report Posted October 21, 2004 Listen to him on Lacy's Vespers, and all will be forgiven. Some ecstatic soloing from Ford there, albeit 11 years ago now. Quote
JSngry Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Posted October 22, 2004 Talk to me Jim. Is this a Diane Arbus thing? That's what I'm wondering... Quote
Larry Kart Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 "Please amplify. I have not paid attention for about 20 years. Ralph Moore distracted me for a while so I didn't notice Ricky's absence, then ............ I do have to say Ricky played the "Ralph role" when Schnitter evaporated." That's so "inside" that it frightens me to think that I pretty much understand it. Quote
robviti Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 I don't know if what you are describing is more pronounced in recent years, but Ricky's mother died in the same 1996 TWA crash that took the life of Wayne Shorter's wife and niece, so there is no doubt that he has been dealing with a lot of emotional issues in the last few years. Perhaps this is connected? Bertrand. Jim neglected to mention that the Davis cd was recorded back in 1997. It's not inconceivable that his mother's tragic death might have affected his playing on this date, but that's pure conjecture. I'm not aware of there being any questions raised about Ford's current emotional health. To do so based on a single performance strikes this mental health professional as quite a stretch and a touch disrespectful, although I'm sure Jim is just concerned and meant no offense. Take a listen to these clips from 1999's live date Balaena and relax. Ricky's in control and sounds great - Balaena. Quote
JSngry Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Posted October 22, 2004 Oh, it's not just the one performance... Quote
JSngry Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Posted October 22, 2004 "Please amplify. I have not paid attention for about 20 years. Ralph Moore distracted me for a while so I didn't notice Ricky's absence, then ............ I do have to say Ricky played the "Ralph role" when Schnitter evaporated." That's so "inside" that it frightens me to think that I pretty much understand it. Quote
relyles Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Ford sounds great on both discs, but I recall when I first heard the Jazz Friends releases Balena (1999) and Songs For My Mother (2001), I thought that Ford's playing was much more expressive and agressive than on his earlier Muse recordings. I don't know if there is any psychological/emotional significance to this, but it made for great music. For something a little more recent I have a copy of a radio broadcast of the Ford/Kirk Lightsey duet performance in 2003 in Chiasso. Nothing about the performance (which is good) would indicate to me that there are any health issues with Ford. Quote
Spontooneous Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Coincidence: Yesterday, "Total Package" was the disc I pulled out of the great big stack of unplayed stuff. I was taken aback by the intensity of Ricky's playing. (And his intonation seemed to be better than I remembered from the Muse dates.) I'm thrilled with this disc. Quote
brownie Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 I have enjoyed the duo album Ricky Ford recorded with Kirk Lightsey for the French label Jazz Friends Production. Ford plays fiery lines but nothing that raises questions about his mental state of mind.. Some of Ford's recent albums are available through Jazz Friends: http://www.jazzfriends.com/ Quote
Eric Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Wow - does anyone know that Sonny Simmons/Tapscott CD? Looks interesting ... Quote
relyles Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Wow - does anyone know that Sonny Simmons/Tapscott CD? Looks interesting ... I have it. Its solid, but probably more conservative than one might expect. If I remember correctly they play extended versions of a couple of standards. Quote
brownie Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Wow - does anyone know that Sonny Simmons/Tapscott CD? Looks interesting ... I have it. Its solid, but probably more conservative than one might expect. If I remember correctly they play extended versions of a couple of standards. Solid and a bit conservative. But quite excellent. This was recorded July 28, 1955 at the Parc des Recollets in Longwy, eastern France. Four tracks: - Milestones, - Body and Soul, - So What, - Caravan Really worth looking for! Quote
mikeweil Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Jim, as serious as I take your concern, wasn't it you who said you have to be crazy to play like that - about Johnny Griffin, that is? Maybe this is a new case of tenor madeness? Quote
relyles Posted October 22, 2004 Report Posted October 22, 2004 Solid and a bit conservative. But quite excellent. This was recorded July 28, 1955 at the Parc des Recollets in Longwy, eastern France. Four tracks: - Milestones, - Body and Soul, - So What, - Caravan Really worth looking for! If it was not clear from my original post I agree that it is worth looking for, however it was recorded in 1995, not 1955. Quote
JSngry Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Posted October 22, 2004 I suppose I should clarify... Beginning w/the Candid dates, it seems to me that Ford's playing has taken on an increased intensity and, for lack of a better word, "furor". It seems to me that there's also been an increased element of "purging" in his playing, and has been for more than a few years now. I say that because of the intensity of his playing, yes, but also because of the "breathless" quality of it - the guy seems to be pouring out torrents of sound as fast and furious as he can, and it's not an "empty display of virtuosity" or anything like that (if anything, it's a display of intentionally distorted virtuosity, which, perhaps, gets to the core of this whole thing...). Instead, it seems that ("feels like", actually - this is admittedly a totally subjective response) there's something going on inside of him that he's got to get out because not getting it out would not be healthy. And given the intensely jagged, at times even brutal, nature of his playing these days, I have to wonder just what that "something" is. The title of the thread was phrased in a somewhat goofy manner, but still, listening to Ford over the last 20 years or so is often a pretty disconcerting experience for me. Maybe I'm "projecting" the emotions that I feel when I feel compelled to play with that type of intensity (albeit without that level of virtuosity), and perhaps that is totally unfair/innaccurate. Maybe he's happy as a lark and that's how happy as a lark sounds coming out of his horn. Could be! But I'm less than convinced about that... Hey, look - I wasn't implying that Ford was clinically insane or anything like that. But I do think that there's quite possibly some dark stuff going on in his head, which for any jazz musician these days is pretty much a fact of life, to be honest. I'm just consistently taken aback at how "unfiltered" it is in Ford's playing these days. Totally out of sync w/what players of his "style" are "supposed" to project. All I can say is that Ford is making some pretty confrontational music these days. Like Chuck so puckishly implied, such was not the case back in the 70s, and maybe that's why the impact is even greater for me - back then, "Ricky Ford" was synonymous with a "retro" direction, even if, in his fiendishly quirky originals, it was obvious that this was no "mere" neo-hardbopper. But I'll be damned if there's anything on the Muse dates to prepare you for something like the album he did w/Yusef Lateef, which is simply one of the most seriously perverse tenor duos ever recorded, imo. Wonderfully perverse, mind you, but still perverse nevertheless. If you've not heard it, check it out, and prepare to be mindfucked. That's just one example. Other than the duets w/Lightsey, I've heard all the items mentioned here (and at least one (RICHARD DAVIS AND FRIENDS LIVE AT SWEET BASIL) that hasn't been) and I'm very much of the belief that Ricky Ford is dealing with some serious issues. Whether or not they're "personal" issues I wouldn't want to begin to guess, speculation of the thread title to the contrary. But even if the issues are entirely musical (hey, I've known guys to get so deep into playing that they kind of "get out there", if you know what I mean), I'll still say that there's something going on in Ricky Ford's playing that all the Ralphs and Schnitters and such combined don't even get to in their worst nightmares. What that something is, I haven't a clue, but it at once attracts me and disturbs me. And it keeps me wanting to hear more. Quote
JSngry Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Posted October 22, 2004 Jim, as serious as I take your concern, wasn't it you who said you have to be crazy to play like that - about Johnny Griffin, that is? Maybe this is a new case of tenor madeness? Quote
DrJ Posted October 23, 2004 Report Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) Interesting take on the music. I have honestly never heard this in his music, although I do hear a tremendous amount of energy and yes, some urgency, but it's never had a (for lack of a better way to put it) real dark edge to me. Not saying it's not there, not by any means - just that it didn't strike me that way. But I will relisten, and freely admit I could simply be missing it. If anything I find his playing seems more (again for lack of a better word) comfortable (not as in "easy chair/falling asleep" but as in sounding comfortable in one's own skin/with one's own art - maybe "realized?") since the Muse days - listening for example to HARD GROOVIN', I hear the frenzy but sometimes there didn't seem to be anything much worth saying. Seems to me right after that he really got on to something good artistically (as a leader - was a fine sideman for a long time before). Anyway, BALAENA is one of my favorite tenor and rhythm CDs of any era, though, and the couple of Candids with Jaki Byard and then the other Candid HOT BRASS are way up there too. Jazz Friends has some nice releases - Andrew Hill's solo piano date, the piano trio with Hanna/Davis/Cyrille, and the Tapscott/Simmons are all good ones. Hard to find. Edited October 23, 2004 by DrJ Quote
Late Posted February 24, 2008 Report Posted February 24, 2008 Maybe he just misplaced his very cool dinner jacket. Quote
marcello Posted February 24, 2008 Report Posted February 24, 2008 You mean this one? These are some photos of mine that show Ricky Ford when he was with Mercer Ellington, before he was with Mingus. Ford was one of the best of that generation, but I've not heard anything by him in quite a while. The last I heard he was in Istanbul. I tried to get that Cd of him and Yusef, but to no avail. Quote
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