Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Ford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States,) and studied at the New England Conservatory. In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schuller and then played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington from 1974 to 1976. After this he played with Charles Mingus (1976–1977), Dannie Richmond (1978–1981), Lionel Hampton (1980–1982), and then in the Mingus Dynasty (1982). He also played with Abdullah Ibrahim (1983–1990) and Mal Waldron (1989–1994), and has recorded with many other notable musicians including Yusef Lateef, Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Amina Claudine Myers, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Steve Lacy, and others. Ford has recorded extensively as a leader for Muse and Candid. He settled in Paris, France, in the 1990s. He taught at Istanbul Bilgi University from 2001 to 2006. In 2009 he founded the Toucy Jazz Festival in Yonne, (France), and invited musicians including Rhoda Scott (2009) and Ravi Coltrane (2011).

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With Dannie Richmond With Mal Waldron With others