Robben Ford

Award-winning guitarist Robben Ford ranks among the planet's most recognized instrumentalists. His playing merges blues with rock, jazz with funk. Session work has placed him alongside figures as varied as Miles Davis, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, and Mavis Staples. He launched his professional life alongside Charlie Musselwhite and Jimmy Witherspoon, then joined Tom Scott & the L.A. Express before issuing the 1976 debut Schizophonic. Throughout the 1980s he performed jazz alongside the Yellowjackets, Dave Grusin, and additional collaborators while releasing his own recordings, among them 1988's Talk to Your Daughter. In the 1990s he assembled Robben Ford & the Blue Line; the band's self-titled 1992 album earned a Grammy nomination and captured a W.C. Handy Award. The instrumental Tiger Walk followed in 1997 and likewise received a Grammy nod. On 2014's A Day in Nashville he recorded live in the studio before an invited audience. In 2019 he visited Japan with saxophonist Bill Evans, bassist James Genus, and drummer Keith Carlock; upon returning they tracked the live-in-studio Sun Room, credited jointly to Evans. Pure arrived in 2021 as his first entirely instrumental outing since Tiger Walk. The following year Ford joined Evans, Carlock, and bassist Darryl Jones for the jazz-rock release Common Ground. Night in the City appeared in 2023 as a live document.

Ford learned guitar on his own at age 13, citing Mike Bloomfield as his earliest inspiration. At 18 he relocated to San Francisco and formed the Charles Ford Band, named for his father, who also played guitar; nine months later he was enlisted by Charlie Musselwhite. The Charles Ford Blues Band reunited in 1971 and cut material for Arhoolie in early 1972. Subsequent stints included Jimmy Witherspoon in 1972 and 1973, Tom Scott's L.A. Express in 1974, and further work with George Harrison and Joni Mitchell. He co-founded the Yellowjackets in 1977 and remained until 1983, maintaining a parallel solo path and extensive session activity. Ford toured with Miles Davis in 1986 and spent separate stretches in 1985 and 1987 with Sadao Watanabe, yet returned decisively to the blues in 1992 by launching the Blue Line and cutting several blues-rock albums for Stretch that rank among his strongest. Sunrise surfaced on Rhino and Supernatural on Blue Thumb in 1999. He joined the Concord Jazz roster in 2002, releasing Blue Moon that year, Keep on Running in 2003, and Truth in 2007. A guest appearance on Larry Carlton's Live in Tokyo preceded the largely live Soul on Ten in 2009. In 2013 he began an association with Provogue and delivered Bringing It Back Home, a collection of blues and R&B covers performed by an all-star ensemble. Later that year he tracked an album in a single day at Nashville's Sound Kitchen Studio with a first-rate band; the results emerged as A Day in Nashville in February 2014. Into the Sun followed in 2015, a bright, soulful set produced by Niko Bolas and featuring guest contributions from ZZ Ward, Keb' Mo', and Warren Haynes. After more than a year and a half of nonstop touring, Ford paused before re-entering the studio. In 2018 he elected to record while emphasizing production duties as much as performance, enlisting vocalists Shemekia Copeland and Travis McCready (Bishop Gunn) and co-producing with Casey Wasner; Purple House appeared on earMUSIC that October. After another Japanese tour later that year, again co-led with saxophonist Bill Evans, the pair entered the studio with drummer Keith Carlock and bassist James Genus to complete Sun Room for earMUSIC in late July; the album reached number two on the blues charts.

Pure returned in 2021, his first all-instrumental album since Tiger Walk. Departing from prior methods, Ford recorded all guitar and keyboard parts himself alongside engineer Casey Wasner before overdubbing rhythm and horn sections. Issued in August, the project blended bluesy hard rock with smooth West Coast soul. In September 2022 Ford, Evans, Carlock, and Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones released the jazz-rock album Common Ground on Ear Music; the title track included a guest vocal from German pop singer Max Mutzke. Night in the City arrived in December 2023. Captured live in 2021 at Nashville's City Winery with his quintet—Anton Nesbitt on bass, Nate Smith on drums, Jeff Coffin on saxophone and bass clarinet, and Jovan Quallo on saxophone—the set represented the guitarist's first post-pandemic concert.