Guitar master opens up about his latest album and working with Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell
Exclusive video interview with FGPO’s Jon Liebman
June 5, 2019
By David Sands
Robben Ford certainly holds a place among the great living practitioners of the guitar. While the five-time Grammy nominee may best be known for his blues work, he’s enjoyed a versatile career that’s encompassed a diverse range of genres including jazz, rock, funk and more. And as a guitar maestro, he’s respected as much for his inventiveness and connection to his music as his technical mastery.
A native of California, Ford got his start playing in a family group called the Charles Ford Band. With his drummer brother Patrick, he then went on to tour the U.S. with famed blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite. Ford joined L.A. Express in the 1970s, and as a member of the celebrated jazz fusion ensemble collaborated with Joni Mitchell. Around that time, he also toured as a sideman with former Beatle George Harrison during his Dark Horse tour of the U.S. and Canada. A few years later, Ford brought together the group that would later become the Yellowjackets to record his solo album, The Inside Story. And all that is just digging the surface of a career in which he’s released more than 20 of his own albums and collaborated with the likes of Miles Davis, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald, Bob Dylan, Susan Tedeschi, Larry Carlton, Brad Paisley, Mavis Staples, among others.
In a never before seen interview from last year, Ford speaks with FBPO’s Jon Liebman about his musical beginnings, working with Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis, a recent move to Nashville, his latest album Purple House and his preference for vintage gear.
Watch our interview with Robben!
Robben’s latest album is available here:
