Robben Ford, Triple Door, Seattle, October 19, 2011
Robben Ford does not disappoint. Whether playing his beautiful vintage Gold Top, or cream-colored Tele, he alternately woos and bullies the most fantastic tones out of his guitars.
With a past studded with legendary music stars, Robben brings it all to every show. You can hear the influences haunting his playing. Robben has toured with such jazz greats as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Miles Davis, Bill Evans (Miles’ saxophonist), and John Scofield, and pop and rock legends George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones’ later bassist) and Bob Dylan, among others.
Robben plays at a “Wow!” level, right up there with Pat Metheny and Larry Carlton. In fact, his Gold Top guitar was a gift from Larry. And he makes it shine.
His current trio, performing last night in front an intimate audience of 250 lucky people, absolutely mesmerized. Each artist was distinctly and insanely great, from Robben’s soulful singing and masterful playing, to drummer Gary Novak’s pin-point sticks and boom, to bassist Jimmy Haslip’s artful architecture and never-wavering pulse. Robben writes much of his material, but it’s often hard to tell he’s doing a cover; his unique character and style makes the song his own.
Visit www.robbenford.com for tour dates and information about his instructional “guitar dojo” and clinics.
