Robbin Ford at the Maritime Academy

After Sweetie Pies fat rumba, we headed up to the North bay for...

Yet another amazing free show!

Robbin Ford played at the maritime academy in Vallejo - a really nice outdoor venue right on the water. Free to the public, and in a very very relaxed setting.

Mr Ford... what can i say. This cat is all pro!

In the art of performance - very different than the art of playing your music - Robbin is a true master. He is a master of his sound, his equipment, his performance... a true pro, and very educational to watch. Of course he is a master of his instrument, without question.

His rodie (more a technical assistant) was tuning Robbin's guitars between each song, changing out a cleanly tuned ax for every tune. That was the first time i've ever seen that!

I bet it's to a point that Robbin thinks he is out of tune by the end of a song... what an ear!

I was filming the show, and the rodie asked me to stop filming, which was fine, of course. But to show what pro's these guys are, he comes off stage to hand me a pick and to explain why he asked me to stop... man, these cats even have the PR angle covered!!



So the set...

10 or so tunes, from driving power blues, to head nodding ballads, with a fusion tune thrown in for us jazz geeks.

Robbin had a two man rhythm section, with Travis Carlton on bass and Toss Panos on drums. - powerful and solid.. solid as in 'large granitic bolder' solid.

They laid down the groove so fat, it set a sweet stage for Robben's truly masterful playing. It was all Ford, with few distractions.

Nice to see how versatile a musician this man is. This brother has the blues... in a really good way, and is a very talented fusion artist.

I know of him from my fusion days - he worked with the Yellow Jackets and Miles Davis, himself.

He played a fusion tune.. one only, but it was so dang sweet. Man, i wish the entire set was fusion. But his southern style rock'n blues is so entertaining, we had a really great time.

To be retrospective for a moment...

This was yet another in a 40 year string of fun shows - thanks Pops, on fathers day. He dragged me out to every Miles, Chick and Dizzy show that came through the bay back then. I remember seeing Count Basie at the circle star... seeing Dizzy's latin faze when i was a tot, etc. ... blessed to be from a musical family.

Note on the video... thats my, usually private dancer in the last clip... ;)

Tony

PS.

Robbin has a very fat site....

http://www.robbenford.com/

Robben Ford is one of the premiere electric guitarists today, particularly known for his blues playing as well as his ability to be comfortable in a variety of musical contexts. A four-time Grammy nominee, he has played with artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Miles Davis, George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Claus Ogerman, Michael McDonald, and many, many others.