Ford, Ricky (actually, Richard Allen)

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Ford, Ricky (actually, Richard Allen)

Ford, Ricky (actually, Richard Allen), jazz tenor saxophonist; b. Boston, March 4, 1954. As a 20-year-old (student at NEC), he made his debut with Gunther Schuller and worked with Jaki Byard and Ran Blake. His style, which blended swing-era volume, bop discipline, and harmonic knowledge, matured with the Charles Mingus group in the late 1970s. During the 1980s, he penned charts for Lionel Hampton and the Mingus Dynasty, toured and recorded as a leader, and was part of a wonderful Afro-jazz group led by Abdullah Ibrahim. He has directed the Brandeis Univ. Jazz Ensemble since the mid-1980s.

Discography

Loxodonta Africana (1977); Manhattan Plaza (1978); Flying Colors (1980); Tenor for the Times (1981); Interpretations (1982); Future’s Gold (1983); Shorter Ideas (1984); Saxotic Stomp (1987); Manhattan Blues (1989); Hard Groovin’ (1989); Ebony Rhapsody (1990); Hot Brass (1991); American-African Blues (1991); Tenor Madness Too (1995).

—Lewis Porter

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Ford, Ricky (actually, Richard Allen)

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